Alpha
If glass contains a sound, we cannot hear
It. We can cause a sound from it by force
But torture chambers manage only queer
Sounds, agonies, from humans, so of course
The sounds we cause by breaking glass or with
A wetted finger on a rim are not
Related to the soul-like sound of myth
Contained in crystal, sounds akin to thought
Behind an angel’s eye. And heated glass
In Venice, even that refuses to
Give throat to hopes (in a requiem mass?)
Or melodies of songbirds winged with blue.
The secret notes of glass and crystal are
Beyond our dreams, beyond a long cooled star.
Copyright by Laurent Millet, Nuages