by Martin Dickinson
i want the music stand
that leonard bernstein used
remembering becketts play i saw
recast the seats from the opera house
set them up in a park in maryland
o maryland my maryland my safe
blue state and we will sing and dance
and to hell with your golden columns
i want oak trees and maples
to surround us instead of plaster
falling from the ceiling as today
the little red italian mice run rampant
i want stravinsky wynton marsalis
itzhak perlman renee fleming
all to myself and placido domingo
on the hillside overlooking great falls
nessun dorma or carmens habanera
or how about alvin ailey dancers
in a park where everyone
who wants will come for free
unscrew the doors empty the
parking lots give away all
the snacks from the snack bars
free drinks and for security guards
lifetime pensions send all volunteers
to the royal albert hall and lets
dance on the beach in rehoboth
barefoot and laugh out loud because
everyone in this fair land deserves it
Martin Dickinson has published four collections of poetry. His forthcoming book is in texas, a live oak. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.