avatarTheodore McDowell

Summary

The text describes an intimate and emotionally charged evening between two people, marked by a blend of conflict, reconciliation, and shared melancholy, soundtracked by classical music, specifically Ravel's Kaddish.

Abstract

The narrative unfolds in an Italian restaurant where a couple's argument is interrupted by a violinist's love ballad, setting the scene for a complex interplay of emotions. Post-dinner, they navigate the cold outside, their bodies leaning into the wind, devoid of the distraction of window shopping. At home, they engage in individual solaces—whiskey and a joint—while the music plays, transforming their jarring anger into a smoother, yet sarcastically resentful, exchange. The scene shifts to the balcony where one smokes, the city's sirens echoing the couple's internal turmoil. Eventually, they find solace on the couch, where the soft strains of Ravel's Kaddish evoke a shared sense of sorrow and impending farewell, their souls resonating with the adagio tempo of the music.

Opinions

  • The author suggests a preference for softer, more plaintive music during the restaurant scene, implying that the violinist's ballad could have better matched the mood.
  • There is a sense of resignation and weariness as the couple declines to window shop, indicating a focus on their internal dynamics rather than external stimuli.
  • The choice of whiskey and a joint as coping mechanisms hints at a search for individual escape from the tension of their relationship.
  • The siren's sound is personified, reflecting society's relentless pace and its impact on personal moments of reflection or crisis.
  • The final scene on the couch, with the couple embracing and listening to Ravel's Kaddish, conveys a deep emotional connection and a poignant acceptance of their situation, suggesting that music can provide comfort and closure.

POETRY

Ravel’s Kaddish

Sad enough for goodbye

Photo by Michel Catalisano on Unsplash

Fighting at a corner table in a dimly lit Italian restaurant. Interrupted by a violinist playing a love ballad. I wished he had played it softer with a plaintive sound.

After dinner, we walked back to the apartment, bodies leaning into the chill winter wind, gloves stuffed in pockets, not even bothering to window shop.

At home, we silently listened to classical music on the stereo. I drank whiskey; you smoked a joint. Jarring anger smoothed out into sarcastic resentments.

With a blanket around your shoulders, you stepped out onto the balcony to smoke a Newport. Your cigarette carved into the darkness. On the street, a siren hurtled through traffic lights, refusing to let the dying die.

Back on the couch, shrouded in a blanket, I held you tight, gently rocking you to Ravel’s Kaddish. Our souls cried adagio tears. The violin softer now, sad enough for goodbye.

Poetry
Scuzzbucket
Relationships
Sadness
Goodbye
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