The Banjo Apocalypse

Posted by Dave Bonta on December 27, 2009 (last modified at 11:19 pm, 8/14/10)
This entry is part 1 of 21 in the series Banjo Poems

Revelation 8

And I saw the seven angels
which stood before God:
& to them were given
seven banjos.

Their necks were nickle-
fretted mahogany,
& they were strung
with steel.

Heads like almost-perfect moons
had one clear patch, one sea
where the frailer’s fingers hit,
regular as oars.

Thumbscrews gleamed
on the rims of resonators,
those round holds that once
were ocean-going gourds.

A vine climbed the neck:
inlaid mother-of-pearl
leaf & tendril to distract
any potential Jonah.

And the seven angels
which had the seven banjos
prepared themselves
to sound.


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11 Responses to The Banjo Apocalypse

  1. Dave says:
    December 27, 2009 at 10:14 am

    The phrase “banjo apocalypse” woke me out of a sound sleep around 6:00, whence the “dreams” tag here.

    Reply
  2. Ken Wagner says:
    December 27, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    Hey Dave,

    Nice one. Just happened to be listening to Bartok’s string quartets when I read this. Apocalypse, indeed.

    Cheers.

    Reply
  3. Joan says:
    December 28, 2009 at 8:29 am

    Love this! I can see future generations quoting from “The Book of Dave” to their flocks.

    Reply
  4. Peter says:
    December 29, 2009 at 10:52 am

    I like how I never get over the “Their” in the fifth line, so all applies to angels and banjos alike.

    Your two middle stanzas are as pretty as pearl inlay. Wow.

    I love the references to the sea in the last four stanzas. The sea comes in dreamlike, as it does in Revelation. The seamen’s aversion to Jonahs is fun. “Sound” pulls it together nicely.

    Reply
  5. Dave says:
    December 29, 2009 at 10:51 pm

    Thanks for the positive feedback, Peter. I’m glad you liked it, because I have a feeling you’ve spent way more time with the book of Revelation than I ever have. Good call on that “their” — the KJV’s “themselves,” borrowed in the last stanza, reinforces that identification of angel with instrument.

    Reply
  6. David Harmon says:
    December 31, 2009 at 10:05 am

    Amusing… Judging by the next couple of posts, you seem to be going on a banjo kick.

    Reply
  7. zeladoniac says:
    January 5, 2010 at 12:41 pm

    I’m LOVING your banjo poetry- what a surprise! Seven lucky angels playing not on harps but on banjos. Makes me want to go to heaven, just about.

    Keep up the series- and let’s talk 5-string sometime.

    Reply
    • Dave says:
      January 5, 2010 at 1:57 pm

      Oh hey, glad you’re liking it! I’m hoping the series continues for a while, but we’ll see. I do love clawhammer banjo (and tolerate that new-fangled Scruggs stuff).

      Reply

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