Adagio for Strings

Samuel Osmond Barber II -  Britannica


Adagio for Strings

It begins politely,
one violin clearing its throat
before telling the universe
what we already suspected:

nothing stays.

The strings climb
like hope wearing sensible shoes,
carrying the dead,
the almost-dead,
and all the things
we foolishly assumed
would be around Thursday.

Higher.

The melody becomes
a beautiful argument
with gravity,
then loses.

There is no grand lesson,
no celestial footnote,
just the sudden understanding
that love is what happens
when impermanence
gets personal.

Then the music falls silent,

which is terribly rude,
but perfectly consistent.

After all,
even beauty has somewhere else to be.


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Adagio for Strings by Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) 



©2026 Christopher Reilley 
 


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Comments

  1. This is awesome
    "After all,
    even beauty has somewhere else to be."

    Much love

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those opening lines made me smile, Chris, the polite beginning and the violin clearing its throat, and I love the simile ‘strings climb like hope wearing sensible shoes’, as did the music falling silent being ‘terribly rude but perfectly consistent’.

    ReplyDelete

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