Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Vintage 1964



Noble Rot

beyond need, beyond want, beyond desire

beyond power, fame and fortune

one thing,
more than anything,
something as simple as,
and nothing more than,
Time

for it will betray us all

just when
the ambrosia of melodies melts across sound to taste,
but before the tongue can wrap around
the truffle of Mozart,
the bitters of Mahler,
the confection of Satie

before the throat can swallow
the dessert wine of Debussy
with hints of oak, blackcurrant,
and even botrytis cinerea itself

a knock at the door,
the rattle at a window

lights flicker
and in their fade

the man in the mirror
staring back through grapes of wrath,
in the grips of noble rot

the malevolence of time
meeting
the benevolence of timing

where sweetness,
however short lived,
surely follows

photo by d. frechard

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