Harmony and Dissonance

There are passages in music when the flow A strain that lulls our minds to sweet accord With placid carefree harmonies below Is interrupted by a jagged chord A fleeting dash of dissonant cold acid That wakens us from comfort warm and placid In quickened state of consciousness now roused Our senses thus intensified see weave Of sharper image, richer field espoused The music takes new meaning we perceive Then resolution that must surely come Has joyful uplift from the dark we plumb We see now here an allegory of life Wherein we may face dissonance and strife We seek a blessed passage ‘concertante’* And pray for ease - (a paradise by Dante?) God grant, rather the strength to have and treasure Harmony and dissonance in equal measure *Concertante: composition in which solo voices or instruments interact with the whole orchestra.