On a dark youthful evening
I drove home in foggy snow
From a chamber at the other end
Of the radio there caressed forth
Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony
Rachmaninoff, a tantalising challenge
To David Helfgott, a forbidden throb of the heart
To Laura and Alec, and for me?
I let the sound wash over me for the first time
Clipped to a strain by the raging motor
Barely conscious on the invisible road
The intensity, the hunger of despair
Yearning in vain, a Russian smile
Bearing the agony of the end
The ecstasy of futility
That knowing death
Can itself be beautiful
I was the light in the dark
Few winters had passed before this
And I had weathered much sorrow
Alone
How quietly joyous, to be alone
And alive, despite silly jaunts
Nothing had been taken
When I stepped out of the car
Snowflakes danced in the lamp light
I heard the cheers of the Petersburg crowd
In a silent Surrey street
I felt the glare of the moonlight on the Neva
Down small roads with soft thuds
I wondered how could this be
So magic, so full of life, this day set up
With an ordinary sunrise, yet here
I passed between shadows, deep in sable snow
And there could be no room left in my heart
For love to fill, so strange a time
To choose that moment when everyone slept
I had the adagio still ringing
If only I could thank God
I had a part of the universe in my pocket.
@nepion_boreas17
