A Poem In Two Parts Inspired By Parsifal Of Richard Wagner Poem by Daniel Brick

I)
Parsifal becomes the symbolic embodiment
of an angelic androgyny, proclaiming a
new civilization and culture.
Jean-Jacques Nattiez

THE ANDROGYNE

Gaze upon the beauteous face of
the Androgyne. Take your time - Nature did
to create this blending of the sexes. Take
your time to look into his liquid brown eyes,
holding astonishment. And then there is
your astonishment to consider: How long
can you pay homage to such wonder?
Is your heart open to admit this perfect
image to its place of being? Take your time -
The poet did who wrote the Grail Epic:
He affirmed the Androgyne knows secrets
he will share with seekers who love
those wounded in their deepest self.
The cure is even now beginning...
Oh, marvelous confusion of the senses!
The magic is all around us:
The young in trance-like service,
the old in perpetual wonder.

II)
Parsifal sees himself not as the instigator
of redemption but its agent. His replacement
of Amfortas involves a cyclical return or
restitution, not the prospect of a wholly new world.
Dieter Burchmeyer

KLINGSOR'S DOWNFALL

It has been essentially a project
of disenchantment. It proceeds apace
mostly on its own momentum. I was standing
under the lintel of the north castle
of Klingsor's fortress complex. I had
a clear view of young Parsifal easily
defeating and and disarming the mystified
Grail knights. He seemed to know they were
all under a spell: he did not slay any of them.
One of the squires came over to us, his face blank,
his voice drained of emotion: 'Seneschal, Klingsor is dead.
His corpse dissolves into the muck. Seneschal, will you
lead us now? ' He did not wait for my reply, he stumbled twice as he vanished into the smokey twilight. 'We are free, ' said one of the servants, several others nodded, but the silence was heavy around us. 'Do we have homes somewhere? ' Kundry's lady-in-waiting asked. 'Are there people out there waiting for us? ' But what do prisoners know of the world? And we were doubly imprisoned: first by Klongsor's labyrinthine fortress, second by his enchantment.
Our enchantment ceased with his death, and we could again see the world with our true eyes. And what we saw startled us: cracks creased the walls and towers, fissures widened, and then thencollapse began. All of us - servants, butchers, blacksmiths, cleaners, cooks, the whole complement of the castle huddled in the open space at the center of the fortress. We witnessed the final end of Klingsor's reign: Walls buckled and fell straight down in ruins, towers swayed as huge blocks dislodged, breaking aparty on the ground, debris piled around us, releasing choking clouds of dust. We stood transfixed but untouched, we felt neither fear nor triumph. Through the smoke and haze we could make out former Grail knights wandering without purpose, others hunched over, holding their heads and moaning... Then we saw a blessed sight: The Flower Maidens, slaves no longer, walked in a slow procession through the destruction, oblivious of ther violence, untouched by the chaos. We had for ages traduced them as little more than whores, but now in the moment of liberation we saw them arrayed in gowns of white and gold, their nakedness clothed in glory, their seductive ways dispelled. And we knew they were the ones who would lead us out of the wasteland into our future... What Parsifal had begun with his courage, they wouild fulfill with their grace. We rejoiced and resolutely joined their slow procession....