‘To My Friends Pictured Within’

Dedication of Elgar’s Enigma Variations

   The faded, grainy photographs reveal
   A late-Victorian decent openness.
   These were his friends: with them he could express
   His candid self, indulge his whims and feel
   That there was nothing that he need conceal.
   Their loyalty assuaged delayed success,
   Keeping at bay the hurt of bitterness
   No future accolades would ever heal.

   ‘Enigma’ made his name and changed his life.
   Honours and fame made him a traveller;
   He roamed the world, was fêted, made new friends.
   His amour propre guarded by his wife,
   He kept his wounds, sensitive to a slur.
   The music, nobilmente, made amends.