A stopwatch and an ordnance map.
At five a man fell to the
And the watch flew off his
Like a moon struck from the
Marking a blank time that
On the tides of change beneath.
All under the olive trees.
A stopwatch and an ordnance map.
He stayed faithfully in that
From his living comrade
By dividers of the
Opening wide the
Of his final loneliness.
All under the olive trees.
A stopwatch and an ordnance map.
And the bones are fixed at
Under the moon's timelessness;
But another who lives
Wears within his heart
Space split open by the bullet.
All under the olive trees.edicated to Samuel Barber