-Interstate 95 North to Interstate 93 North-

I've allowed myself more than enough time,
Considered the impossible traffic congestion
On I-95 North to I-93 North on the approach
Toward the great “Corita Tank”, eyes right,––

Clothes laid-out at the foot of the bed; trousers,

Chino-type, nicely creased, button-down collared

Powder-blue dress shirt, no starch, please, cranberry crew-
Neck sweater, black socks, nearly new wedding to funeral
Perfectly acceptable, brown suede lace-ups, freshly laundered
Boxers and tee-shirt and the final elements,–– 

Concert tickets, Orchestra / K-25, and K-26 laid upon the neatly

Stacked items of clothing in forget-me-not attitude.

It’s been noted that Dmitri Shostakovich composed his 7th Symphony

In Leningrad during the terrible Nazi siege of 1941.

It was also interesting to note that Shostakovich, along with

Other “major artists” were to be evacuated

From Leningrad and other war zones to reasonably

Safe areas throughout Stalin’s Soviet Union.

Bakers, shoemakers, lesser poets and sidewalk-sweepers,––

Those hunch-backed women shawled in black, brushing pavement

With straw-headed brooms, would have to fend for themselves
In starving Leningrad.

But Shostakovich volunteered to serve the beleaguered city as a fireman
Alongside brave Russian soldiers and civilians defending her against

The thick-headed Nazis.

It is further noted that Shostakovich “scaled-down”

The great symphony, structurally, so that it could be more accessible

To the common people;–– the bakers, shoemakers, lesser poets
And sidewalk-sweepers who, against all odds, just might get out
Of Leningrad alive, gather and sack their few remaining belongings

And head-out to the 7th Symphony’s premiere engagement

By the Bolshoi Orchestra in the city of Kuibyshev in March of 1942.

So, of course, yes. I’m going to Boston. 

With Josh D'Elia, Symphony Hall, February, 2017