Richibi’s Weblog

     Title page and key monogram of “The Mountain Lover” (c. 1895)

          Aubrey Beardsley

               ___________

after John passed away, I read, at a

gathering we had for him, something 

that I’d written in his honour, it began,

adagios always remind me of John,

John was a dancer, he walked like

one

a few days later, immersed as I

was in memories of him while 

mechanically washing some 

dishes, I heard, from a symphony 

I’d put on in the background to

keep me company in my reverie,

its adagio

I dried my hands, put my arms

around myself, and we danced

to the end of the movement, I’d  

found, I understood, utterly, I

believed, miraculously, a key to

the very hereafter, adagios

would henceforth always

remind me of John

some time later, flipping aimlessly

through string quartets, of

Shostakovich among others, I  

happened upon this one, his 15th

String Quartet, Opus 144, which

had, to my astonishment, not one,

not two, not three, not even four

nor five, but six whole adagios,

this was John talking, I knew,

I’ve loved it ever since

listen

R ! chard

psst:

   String Quartet no 15, Opus 144

        l – Elegy: Adagio  

      ll – Serenade: Adagio  

     lll – Intermezzo: Adagio

     lV – Nocturne: Adagio

      V – Funeral March: Adagio molto

    Vl – Epilogue: Adagio

                              Dmitri Shostakovich