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| J. M. W. Turner. "Sunrise with Sea Monsters" (1845). |
A red cloud of dust
summoned that fire—
the setting of a city
over earth's horizon
just one more wall
one more brick chorale
has to be knocked down
to remove the painful scar
between the eye
and recollection
with milky coffee rustling papers
the morning workers
blew warmth into dawn and rain
resounding in flumes of dead air
with steel cable
a swollen silence
they fish out the contraband
from space cleared of rubble
a cloud of red dust descends
the desert passing overhead
at the height of razed floors
frameless
windows appear
when the last steep slope
is toppled
and brick plainsong falls
nothing will ruin dreams
of the city that was
the city that will be
the city that is not.
ZBIGNIEW HERBERT (1924-1998). The Collected poems: 1956-1998. 2008. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
