Blindman's Musical Massage Treat
Musical,Magical Blind Man
As a young girl at primary school,I remember the friendly piano tuner calling into our classroom accompanied by his loyal golden Labrador companion to tune and service the piano which was always a treat for the children to listen and sing to.
Little did I realise then,that twenty years later this blind man would become a client of mine!
Fred was his name and he had been born blind.His mother had died shortly after his arrival and so he grew up and was schooled in a special home for people who had visual impairment.
His sense of hearing,smell and touch were his very special gifts and he became a talent,a master tuner of upright,baby grand and grand pianos.
The repetitive strain of the manual work required in fine tuning these wonderful musical instruments had caused Fred to suffer from fibrosis in the back and postural kyphosis.
I use to look forward to treating Fred to a regular massage,he had an awesome personality and would always speak his mind!His humorous stories about who he had met,celebrities included and the places he had visited;his many political conversations we shared putting the world to right.These memories will be cherished and stay with me for life.
Fred was always impressed with how his body felt from the benefits of massage therapy and use to call me his "Magic Hands Lady" He would always enjoy trying to detect which aromatherapy oils I had used during his massage treatment and with great accuracy too!
I was curious to know about how it must feel to be blind,often I would find myself closing my eyes during a massage treatment.What imagery do you have,do you have any concept of colour and of the visual world etc? I didn't ever want to ask too personal questions about his disability, but Fred was always open and would share and explain and liken textures to the pitch and tones of musical acoustics and harmony,it was truly fascinating.
A Tribute Poem for Master Tuner Fred
He was a kind and wise blind fellow,
He had a dog which was yellow,
He always had good insight,
He never complained everything was such a delight.
Master Fred was his name,
A piano tuner was his fame,
Always playing a musical tone,
And you wouldn't find him at home alone.
Meeting many people,who shared his passion,
From varied places, with plenty of fashion,
On the beach with dog in hand,
Fred could be found enjoying the texture of the sand.
The sound of musical chords from many shores,
Opened a variety of doors,
He entered in and fixed their stretched strings,
And then they could play, those key notes again and sing.
After all his 79 working years,
Repetitive strain in the shoulders' appeared,
A symptom of fibrositis,
Required the need for an aromatherapist.
The smell of Lavender oil he liked best,
The soft music playing from on top of his table nest,
The massage movements on his body in time with the rhythm,
The vocal feedback to and fro freely given.
So much joy does music bring,
For being in tune with acoustic things,
Will always create an ambionic peace everlasting within,
Harmony to hold onto forever here in.
copyright Deborah Waring
I'd really appreciate feedback on this poem;so if you enjoyed my attempt at lyrical verse which was inspired by the topical HubMob theme and my blind friend who has passed on from this earth,then please rate it up,thanks.
