LEGHORN

When ships were sighted, Leghorn’s courtesans,

Ran to the harbor, half naked,

Carrying guitars and lutes and mandolins,

Their hair disordered, hoping their songs

Might lure the ships to land. (Back then,

Sailors were an aesthetic lot.) Don’t say

Today brings you nothing – tonight

You’ll dream their music. And that girl –

Red haired, with a lute? -- treat her well; she

Is your grandmother’s mother’s grandmother;

How can you miss the resemblance?  

PTOLEMY XII AULETES

Scholars with time on their hands
Argue that Ptolemy XII Auletes
Should no longer be translated
As Ptolemy XII the flute-player
But as Ptolemy XII the oboe-player.
This matters; was Cleopatra's father
Ebullient and suave, like Jean-Pierre Rampal
Or meditative and deep, like Heinz Holliger?
If you wonder, Louis XIV played guitar;
Think of him as Mick Jagger in an enormous wig
Tight pants and extremely high heels.
(Surprisingly easy, isn't it?)
Prince Charles plays the cello. It is no use
To try imagining him as Yo Yo Ma.