Of Eros and eternal night,

    Amneris concertante.

    ‘Praise to the Holiest in the Height’ –

    Newman and Elgar, weird pair –

    The sombre tide of Arnold’s sea

    Which might have washed Christ to the slums

    Chromatic’d on the silvered air

    Of Malvern decks with pears and plums

    The Angel of the Agony.

    World Music, but not quite.

    ‘Man töte dieses Weib’ –

    They smother her beneath their shields –

    Orgasm has left the orchestra

    And her with nothing else to say.

    The sagging ghost of Wilde yields

    To Strauss’s big machine – but hey!

    The Magi set out with their star.

    And God? Prepare a bribe.