Montsalvat After Richard Wagner's Parsifal Poem by Daniel Brick

I love the music of Wagner's last opera, PARSIFAL. But you won't recognize his story in my poem. It derives from a close reading of the libretto, from which I took striking images out of context, and recast them. Every version of the Grail Quest will plunge the seeker into the Wasteland, caused by the Grail's absence from our lives. So it is in my poem, but several avenues of recovery are highlighted. By the way, Wagner's unique spelling of the Grail knight PARZIVAL'S name reflects the Wise Fool or 'Fals Parsi' whose naivete, when transformed by compassion, becomes a fierce commitment to be the necessary bearer of grace. If you don't have the time or patience for a four-hour experience of transcendent music, at least listen to the twelve-minute Prelude. It is a thing apart from all other musics.