Adagio for Strings
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| 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)
This Poetic interpretation prompted by the DVerse Poets Pub
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This is awesome
ReplyDelete"After all,
even beauty has somewhere else to be."
Much love
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’.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! This one really moves.
ReplyDeleteI love how you have animated the orchestra - expertly done - Jae
ReplyDeleteThis was fabulous!
ReplyDeleteGood one, Chris! Witty and wonderful interpretation of the music.
ReplyDeleteLoved this - your opening stanza captures like the very first bar ... 💞Suzanne
ReplyDeleteChris, you have exquisite command of the English language and you also speak music beautifully. This needs to be made into a meme:
ReplyDeletelove is what happens
when impermanence
gets personal