"Mossman" and "A Friend" poems by Gar Bethel
Collection: Winfield Notable Artists
Title
"Mossman" and "A Friend" poems by Gar Bethel
Subject
Mossman, Stuart
Gar Bethel
Poem
Description
Gar Bethel wrote two poems in honor of Stuart Mossman.
Creator
Gar Bethel
Source
Winfield Public Library
Publisher
Winfield Public Library, Winfield, Kansas USA
Date
Unknown
Rights
Format
text/plain
Language
English
Type
Poetry
Citation
Gar Bethel, “"Mossman" and "A Friend" poems by Gar Bethel,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed June 24, 2026, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/189.
Text
MOSSMAN
He showed me how to use a flat pick or a thumb and two fingers or employ all five. He could press a fret hard or use half pressure to deaden the sound or stretch a string to create a slight whine. He made his guitars from imported woods with inlays of ivory and ebony.
He took me to see the old stone quarry, the horizontal thread lines from the drill, the cleaved and faceted cliff faces, the random stones unused for houses, the stagnant pool always at the bottom holing away from a surface view full of dead bugs and sandstone dust.
Years pass and have passed, since. In hard winter, pipes freeze and burst. The one winged angels from maple trees spin to the ground and sprout in the spring. Air conditioners, in summer, whine in regard to conspicuous consumption. Autumn becomes an easy adjective.
-----Gar Bethel
-
A FRIEND
He stretched frets hard or stretched strings to whine or used half pressure to deaden the timbre.
He made his guitars from Indian rosewood with inlays of ivory and mother-of-pearl.
He showed me the old limestone quarry: the wedged and cleaved and faceted cliff faces,A
the abandoned blocks like fallen tombstones hidden in dust and dead grasshoppers.
Gar Bethel
Original Format
Paper
Title
"Mossman" and "A Friend" poems by Gar Bethel
Subject
Mossman, Stuart
Gar Bethel
Poem
Description
Gar Bethel wrote two poems in honor of Stuart Mossman.
Creator
Gar Bethel
Source
Winfield Public Library
Publisher
Winfield Public Library, Winfield, Kansas USA
Date
Unknown
Rights
Format
text/plain
Language
English
Type
Poetry
Citation
Gar Bethel, “"Mossman" and "A Friend" poems by Gar Bethel,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed June 24, 2026, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/189.Text
MOSSMAN
He showed me how to use a flat pick or a thumb and two fingers or employ all five. He could press a fret hard or use half pressure to deaden the sound or stretch a string to create a slight whine. He made his guitars from imported woods with inlays of ivory and ebony.
He took me to see the old stone quarry, the horizontal thread lines from the drill, the cleaved and faceted cliff faces, the random stones unused for houses, the stagnant pool always at the bottom holing away from a surface view full of dead bugs and sandstone dust.
Years pass and have passed, since. In hard winter, pipes freeze and burst. The one winged angels from maple trees spin to the ground and sprout in the spring. Air conditioners, in summer, whine in regard to conspicuous consumption. Autumn becomes an easy adjective.
-----Gar Bethel
-
A FRIEND
He stretched frets hard or stretched strings to whine or used half pressure to deaden the timbre.
He made his guitars from Indian rosewood with inlays of ivory and mother-of-pearl.
He showed me the old limestone quarry: the wedged and cleaved and faceted cliff faces,A
the abandoned blocks like fallen tombstones hidden in dust and dead grasshoppers.
Gar Bethel
Original Format
Paper