In the last days of wonder when spirits still flew
Where we sat holding hands in half-darkened rooms

Nicola Tesla in the hotel New Yorker
Nursing sick pigeons by the open window

Dreamed of a death ray to disintegrate matter
Detected Morse code drom faraway planets

He couldn’t stand the touch of hair or of skin
But stroked feathers gently on trembling wings

And drew plans for a camera to photograph thoughts
Vacuum tube lights wireless phones

In the last days of wonder when spirits still flew
Round bubbling test tubes in half-darkened rooms

Edison and Westinghouse in silk brocade
Ate oysters Rockerfeller with French champagne

But Tesla grew thin eating only saltines
Going days in his lab without any sleep

Dreaming of God as an X-ray beam
He was hit by a cab while crossing the street
Lying on his bedspread, he struggled to breathe
The light bulbs exploded, the air filled with wings

In the last days of wonder when spirits still flew
Tesla vacated his half-darkened room