Classic Poem

Songs in the Desert! songs of husky breath
And undivine Despair;
Songs that are Dirges, but for life, not Death,
Songs that infect the air;
Have sweetened bitterly my food and wine,
The heart corroded and the Dead Sea brine.

So potent is the Word, the Lord of Life,
And so tenacious Art,
Whose instinct urges to perpetual strife
With Death, Love's counterpart;
The magic of their music, might, and light
Can keep one living in his own despite.