A Poem by Gerald Stern

A poem by Gerald Stern in a recent New Yorker tells of a music box that plays a piece of classical music. At the end of the poem the setting changes - the music box is in a small boat, its bottom filled with an inch of water. Gerald Stern has used the setting to transpose the poem, the poem changes key. It is a comment on the experience of art in uncertain times. The poem came to mind for me in church as the bell choir played.