Charles Belbin


Café El Greco

The spire, cross atop,
of one of the steeples
of Sts. Peter and Paul
rises against a band of
gray fog—blue sky
above—over the top of the
North Beach buildings.
Isn’t that as it should be—
above the traffic, above
the grubbing.  My friend
Carlo likes this quote:
‘A choirmaster,’ says
Diogenes, ‘pitches 
the note higher than
he knows the choristers
can manage—so do I.’
The café window
and the green of a tree
near the curb frames
the spire.  These
things have real
significance but
when we try to express
them we can’t find
the words.  For there
are simple moments
which are also sublime.
An espresso cup sits
empty on a sidewalk table.





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