April 19: "Yamaha," Music Nights, "Church Music"

Billy Collins plays some music  . . 

Yamaha

by:  Billy Collins

I gun my baby grand

along blacktop roads,

and I play Claire de Lune

in my helmet and boots.

Friday nights are music nights for me.

I play at two and three different churches every weekend, so, after dinner on Fridays, I grab my bag of music and head out the door.  Two or three hours later, I'm back home after practicing the hymns and preludes and postludes.

When I was taking piano lessons as a kid, I never thought I'd actually make any money playing the keyboard.  Now, I'm a fulltime accompanist at one Lutheran church, part-time accompanist at another Lutheran church, and the fulltime Saturday evening accompanist at a Catholic church.  Plus, a lot of other churches of various denominations have my name on their lists of in-case-of-musical-emergency-break-glass organists.

Saint Marty's piano lessons have paid off.

Church Music

by:  Martin Achatz

I once played

"Amazing Grace"

with a boogie

bassline 

during communion,

God buying 

a round of drinks

for everyone

in the joint.