“Eurydice Remembers” by Jane Beal

“If music be the food of love, play on … ”
~ Duke Orsino, Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” 

EURYDICE REMEMBERS

I remember the sound of Orpheus singing,
and how the harp-strings he touched resounded,
forming a bridge in mid-air
between heaven and earth,
between earth and the grave.

I remember an African drum,
carried for miles across the ocean
to be played before the King’s throne,
in the outer court by day
and the inner sanctuary by night—

I remember the sound of a bell
carried away over a green field,
its tender call fading away
to silence.

Jane Beal
Sunflower Songs (2012)