The slightest note sufficed
A single finger’s tap
By a quiet slave
A single note held a single instant
For the dull clamor of outrage
Buried in the hollow of black veins
To rise and launch itself in the motionless air
Not knowing what to do
With such tumult the master
Ordered the piano closed
Forever
Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert has won every major literary award in Canada for poetry and fiction, as well as many literary awards in France. Her novels - Kamouraska, Les Enfants du sabbat, Heloise, and Les Fous de bassan - are considered masterpieces of contemporary French fiction. She has also written numerous short stories and screenplays for radio and television.
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