Musical Moments 2. Outside a Graveyard (1989) - Abse

At first I found this poem a little tricky to understand. However, after reading it a few times it has started to make sense. It seems as though Abse is acting as the detached observer during a funeral, hence why he is 'outside a graveyard'. This poem seems to be set in the future to that of the first musical moments poem. Within the first stanza this detached observer says 'Sorry, Miss Crouch'. Now Miss Crouch was the boy's piano teacher in the first poem, so the detached observer himself must be the boy from the first poem. This is set in the future so I have come to the conclusion that this is her funeral. The fact that he is saying 'sorry' could indicate he is sorry for his ignorance of the education that Miss Crouch tried to give him. This could show that the boy has grown up now and has a better understanding of the world around him. We get a sense that the detached observer now has a strong love for music now. He comments that 'you were so unassuming and gentle. If there's a heaven, that's your address. If he now respects Miss Crouch then he now respects music in general. This is different to the ideas conjured up in the first poem because time and the way this person thinks has moved on.

This idea of love to music and his piano teacher if further reinforced in the next stanza. He comments that he observed his piano teacher 'at a Moiseiwitsch concert, at Cardiff's plush Empire' however 'so soon after demolished, replaced by a neon-lit superstore'. This could represent how much time has moved on and how unexpected it was for the teacher to die. This could be a metaphor for death itself, someone can be 'demolished' e.g. die really quickly and be forgotten or replaced really quickly in return. It's a further message, as people, we do not appreciate how valuable life is. He comments that 'music was making love to you'. This gives off the connotations that this piano teacher had a passion for music and could of influenced the boy to later love music himself and that's why he misses her so much.

The last stanza conveys a nice and happy ending to this poem. 'Bringing forth sounds from another world, yes, you and the piano triumphantly rising
between the clouds, higher and higher', This is a representation that the observer can imagine the teacher literally rising to heaven and that she is taking her music with her. This conveys the view that the legacy she leaves behind for the observer is her love for music and this is what he will remember her by.

This poem has strong links to the poem by Larkin Broadcast because it conveys the musical event the 'Moiseiwitsch concert' and both the observer and teacher have the same feelings towards the music but they are in different locations, this is also what happens in Broadcast. It also links to Send No Money by Larkin through this idea of the observer feeling regret for being ignorant of his piano teacher.