4 The Rapacious Teeth of Penury

This replaces the initial version of this poem. There is a fury to this piece not at poverty per se, but at the people who exploit the poor and build fortunes on their graves. The middle section of the piece attempts to come to terms with the hardships of life which cannot be changed, but eventually breaks down into anarchy and faced with a choice between rage and inconsolable grief, chooses the former. The frequent use of 5ths closing into 4ths or 6ths into 5ths represents the cannibalistic gnawing of the predator class. Rewritten in October 2025 and re-recorded on the Pianoteq 8 Steinway. (c) 2025 by Howard Burchfield III. All rights reserved.