Robert Doisneau, Clandestine Press, Quartier Opera, Paris 1944.
Were I to fall in love all over again, it would be
with this low ceiling, with the calm faces
of the two men going about their craft,
and with her, now twisting towards them,
beautiful, defiant and free.
Because we forget how beauty was once itself
and nothing else, how it held its stellar
moment in attic and cellar.
Because that is what beauty is, this compact
with time and the silence of concentration
on one subversive operation,
that requires courage and sacrifice
and never comes without a price.
by George Szirtes
Poetry, February 2008
Szirtes' has several poems as response to certain scenes from World War II. There are several more at the Poetry Magazine website. This is my favorite of the bunch. Although the one called Latrine with the first line of the poem ("Four poilus in a wood austerely shitting." ) is a very close second.
UPDATE: I added a few more music links.
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