Two
Worlds
Here,
in
the
afternoon,
the
forgotten
herb
garden,
the
broken
sundial,
seem
timeless
and
content
in
ruin.
Over
there,
beyond
the
hedge,
lies
a
parking
lot
that
seems
to
thrive
on
agitation.
Two
worlds,
my
love,
two
worlds
a
step
apart,
knowing
nothing
of
one
another.
I
brought
you
here
to
show
you
something
for
which
I
haven't
words,
hoping
you
might
have
the
words,
yet
here
we
stand,
a
step
apart,
in
silence.
Well
then,
let's
move
on—
we
mustn't
linger
here
in
doubt.
Visiting
Poet
With
a
silent
movie’s
flicker
on an
aster
sky,
the
starlings
wheel
St.
Mary's
spire,
tilt,
so
that,
like
Venetian
blinds,
you
see
less
of
them.
Later
(after
espresso
at
The
Rubáiyát),
the
ivy
walls
screechscreech
screechscreech
like
rusty
cot
springs.
Can
you
see
even
one
among
the
leaves?
And
in
an
alleyway
of
old
brick
walls,
zapped
by
lightning
fire
escapes,
against
a
gust
of
burger-scent
and
grime,
I
make
a
lantern
of my
fist.
Get
grit
in
eye.
Cigarette
lit.
And
see
behind
a
dingy
windowpane
one
red
geranium.
And
later
still,
the
clean-edged
roofs
against
an
orchid
sky.
Speculation
#1
outside
the
concert
hall,
after
The
Photographer,
Glass
shattered
by a
taxi's
blare.
at
the
reception,
a
tinkle
of
ice
in
cocktail
glasses,
as
across
the
room
a
woman
lifts
her
wine
glass
at
the
very
moment
I
lift
mine—world
wide,
how
many
others?
and
what
might
Philip
be
doing
this
very
moment—wherever?
later,
in
the
square,
a
frozen
fountain,
still
able,
spirts
a
little,
making
of
itself
an
ice
palace.
“old
age,
uncertain
as an
icy
road”
once,
walking
winter
streets
passed
yellow
window
shades,
the
perfect
female
profile
-
happened!
once,
outside
a
Fasching
party
on
Gaisberg,—stars
the
size
of
Christmas
lights—think
of
it!
to
have
been
Mohr
&
Gruber,
to
have
written
Silent
Night
NOTES
: "Speculation
#1"-
Larry
Kimmel....
First,
"The
Photographer"
is a
musical
work
by
the
contemporary
composer
Phillip
Glass.
Hence
"Glass"
in
the
2nd
line
and
in
upper
case,
and
again
the
mention
of
"Phillip"
in
the
7th
line.
Fasching
is
the
period
of
carnival
in
Germany/Bavaria
from
mid-February
to
mid-March.
For
more
on
that
I've
included
the
URL
below.
KARNEVAL-FASTNACHT-FASCHING
Gaisberg
is
one
of
the
mountains
near
Salzburg,
Austria.
Joseph
Mohr
gave
the
poem
Silent
Night
(Stille
Nacht)
to
Franz
Xavier
Gruber,
who
composed
the
melody
for
Silent
Night.
As
for a
bit
of
background
for
this
poem,
I'd
like
to
point
out
that
it is
made
of a
number
of
fragments,
which
grew
out
of
haiku
and
senryu
attempts
that
seemed
to me
to be
too
metaphoric
for
those
genres.
The
poem
grew
then
from
the
initial
image
of
what
it is
like
to
come
out
of a
concert
and
have
the
meditative
mood
of
the
music
'shattered'
by
the
street
noise,
here
expressed
as
the
blare
from
a
single
taxi.
There
is a
reception
afterward,
and
there
are
some
observations
and
reflections
the
protagonist
makes
at
this
gathering.
After
which,
he
seems
to be
out
walking
(probably
home)
through
a
wintry
urban
(probably
a
small
town)
landscape.
And
it
seems
that
seeing
the
'ice
palace'
fountain,
causes
him
to
have
further
reflections,
or
reminiscences,
as he
walks.
It is
my
hope
that
the
final
leap
"think
of
it! /
to
have
been
Mohr
&
Gruber
...
etc."
has
the
feeling,
somewhat,
of a
non
sequitur,
though
it is
obvious
enough
that
thinking
of
stars
the
size
of
Christmas
tree
lights
would
suggest
this.
And
here
we
have
begun
with
the
sophisticated
work
of
Phillip
Glass
and
ended
with
Silent
Night,
a
simple
lyric
and
tune,
but
famous
worldwide,
(written
in
1816).
And
what
more
could
an
artist
want
than
to
write
something
that
has
lasted
nearly
200
years
and
is
known
worldwide.
And
yet
when
Mohr
and
Gruber
created
this
work,
they
probably
had
no
idea
of
its
importance,
they
were
simply
trying
to
supply
a
need
for a
Christmas
service,
a
planned
service
that
couldn't
go
forward
because
the
organ
was
broken
and
they
would
only
have
voices
and a
guitar
to
work
with.
This
and
other
ideas
in
the
poem
have
long
fascinated
me,
such
as
the
lifting
of a
glass
at
the
same
time
as
someone
across
a
room;
I'm
always
wondering
how
many
people
are
doing
this
or
that
at
the
same
moment.
There
are
nearly
6
billion
of us
on
the
planet
right
now,
after
all.
And
also,
the
idea
of
what
any
particular
person,
such
as a
celebrity,
might
be
doing
at
any
particular
moment.
Take
a
famous
person
and
think,
what
is
so-and-so
doing
right
now.
Sleeping.
Arguing.
Brushing
their
teeth.
More
and
likely
it
will
be
some
simple,
everyday
thing
that
all
of us
do.
NOTES
concerning
"Speculation
#1"-
Conrad
DiDiodato......
