When I was twelve I first heard Mozart play
On my crystal set. It was with fear and
Lust beneath my eiderdown that I lay
Feasting with Don Giovanni and his band.
Growing up, I thought I knew it all
About seduction; roses, the big song,
No messing about with feelings; a small
Goat who got just about everything wrong.
Middle-aged, and older now than he was
On his death-bed, at last I know better.
Zerlina has it right; her song of wars
And healing is the truest love-letter:
Rest in peace, your music has found me out,
Taken my hand, and left me room to doubt.
Second Nature: James Lindesay’s Poetry 