after Gounoud's Faust
Shadows of heads still like roses
in a snow-dome; flame of red hair
levitates taking a woman's body
with it. Rows of entranced minds,
eyes unblinking, souls step out of
swimming melodies. The dead have
walked down from their heavens –
this fantasy isn't morose or sombre,
a pair of lovers drift between clouds.
White souls aligned like graves;
the piano, an invisible instrument,
a dove lands on black lips. Fingers
glide a bow on strings; waist svelte
like a conjuror's belt, tre(m)bles
jovial yet forlorn. Moon's counterparts
engage in may-pole dancing, design
the sky with foams of cloud-dust; stars
burst sprinkling as sequins. The gate
of emptiness opens, divided lovers
mourn eternity – soulless span; light
spills into famine carrying them away –
First published in Ekphrastic Challenge (on painting Fantasy on Faust by Mariano Fortuny)
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