RoyAnthonyShabla.com

is proud to announce the publication of

libretti lumi

~poetry for two operas~

by
Roy Anthony Shabla

libretti lumi

Lyrical and deeply resonant, this book of post-modernist poetry explores the dynamics of inter-personal relationships and communication. Built on classical forms, the work draws a direct line from the modern avant garde back through colonial and medieval literature to ancient Rome and Greece. In many ways, it is a summation of the long tradition of literature in the Western world.

But don't let that intimidate you. libretti lumi is a simple and personal account of the effects of love. You will find yourself and your relationships in this book ~the title implies the epiphany you will have when reading it.

Non-narrative in format, libretti lumi is the cycles of poetry for two operas. Actually, it is one cantata (a pre-cursor form to opera) and one opera. It is also thoroughly modern and accessible.

the universe
is not measured in space
but in time

the size of the universe
is not its expanse
but its age

distance is measured in years of light
though years without light are also counted

the number of light years from here to there
the number of dark years from there to here
the number of twilight centuries to somewhere
the number of eclipse minutes to anywhere else

thus the size of the universe
is not the space
between you and me

but the time
between you and me

the moments of light
the moments of dark
the moments of twilight
the moments of eclipse

sometimes your light
bent around me
only by its bending
acknowledging my orbit

sometimes i reflected your light
increasing the beauty of heaven
master moon that i am

but always
you were the star
i was the satellite

no binary solar system here

the yard stick of light
which keeps the time of the universe
measure for measure
does not plumb a black hole

that which is reckoned there
is more essential than light
and measure for measure
is more accurate

dark matter is what matters
it seems

without radiance
your gravitational pull
exerted influence
on my body

for a time

until the implosion was complete

and I was a single meteor flying
half frozen
half burning
across the constant night sky

the universe
is not measured in space
but in time

and we are measured
in moments

of light
of dark
of twilight
of eclipse
of emptiness