for george shearing, obe (14)

for sir george shearing, obe

(1920 —

hail to thee, sound!—the power of euterpe

in all the scenes of life—

henry kendall

sir george, yr dad delivered coal to the palace at
westminster; yr mum cleaned the trains ‘tween giving birth to
one & seven siblings come before u — & after
caring for them the day long in battersea. & u,
the last, was born congenitally blind. thank yr stars
for music! thank euterpe, the giver of delight
for yr prodigy, for those old teddy wilson &
fats waller records, for making a quick way out of
cockney battersea, bringing u to america
giving u the lullaby of birdland & the kind
of music u made when u played double block chords on
top of octave melodies, yr beknighted voicing.
u 've done yr muse blinding proud. well cracking done, sir knight!

©Joseph McNair;2010