The discovery of opposites Poem by Alfred Brendel

The discovery of opposites
has already wreaked havoc
in Paradise
On our stages
it has become daily practice
Between empty beer bottles and naked women
Florestan writhes in the dungeon
Pushed by Leporello
Don Giovanni travels Spain in a wheelchair
A white-skinned Othello
murders black Desdemona
In the face of such disaster
what else can we do
but express right away
the opposite of what we wish to say
thus giving theatre directors an incentive
to perpetrate
without any loss of face
though not with pristine innocence
the opposite's opposite