Eric Tompkins : The Brush (for Barry)

 

 

Lightly holding     the     brush
          caressing the ride cymbal
     the other hand
stirring the snare drum
The blue light casting a shadow
   on the vibrating sound
 a shimmering hush -
syncopations - variations
  the poet’s touch - a rhythmic rhyme  
  The sound of time    within time

 

 

 

Eric Tompkins is a retired sociologist, writer and musician living in Prince George B.C. He spends his time writing memoirs reflecting on: the absurdity of growing up in a small town (Quesnel); hitch-hiking to Central America; and trying to work as little as possible during the 1970s. Later he became a workaholic obsessed with social theory. More recently he has been composing soundscapes with spoken word and performing in his New and Used Poetry Band.