The lecturer began by playing

            Excerpts from the string quartet I loved

            But always at the very point 

            My lungs began to grin

            He cut them off

            To map out harmonies

            And chord by chord

            Connect the signatures of key

            Philosophers to justify 

            The music’s magnitude or height or

            Depth – 

            I now forget 

            Because it seemed like ancient Greek to me 

            With foreign battlefields 

            Laid waste by bullet points and arrows

            In an annotated new Peloponnesian War

            That night the actual performance of the work

            Restored me to my peace

            I must confess:

            As far as music is concerned

            I much prefer to listen than

            To know the score