Recondita Armonia

A Poem by Dean

It took an opera,
a composer's life and beauty
bursting forth with melody within him.
Then from the scaffold, Mario the painter sees
discovery of harmony upon cathedral walls,
and in his song we know the dawn of tragedy
already present in the darkness
that emerges from his brush; it is in contrast,
strange as it may be, that creation,
the source and object of his love,
will glorify.

There is no escape! The hallelujahs
echo still across the centuries
and knowledge of the tears,
the toil,
the blood,
will not suppress the triumph of their art.

In desperation it is we
who need the punishment that rewards our peace.
Indeed it is the coup de grace
for humankind; it feeds us, seals the years,
and opens up the gracious gates
of larger life that makes a masterpiece
of dreams.

For Mario and Tosca, it is the harmony
of contrast leading
to the unity of love and lovers--
life in one brief flash of time,
and capped in unknown ecstasy
with an eternity of death.
~