Tulips and the End

 Tulips and the End 

Rain is lashing against the windows, 

there is nothing left to say ... 

- is the one time too often already come? ... 

Even my piano keys 

dare not falter any longer, 

even the Crows remain now silent, 

knowing no further wisdom, 

while the heart of everything, 

the heart of freedom, 

the famous tell-tale-heart 

is lost beyond any autumn ... 

Who will remain, 

after they silenced us forever, 

after they slaughtered ev'ry living heart?

Who will dare to care any longer 

when all autumns are gone forever? 

Will there not be another spring? 

I seriously doubt it, 

and I dare not dwell on this any longer [   ]. 

Will you come with me, 

when I take my last round through humanity? 

Will you come 

and take my hand, 

walk with me one last time, 

while fresh rain

is falling on the asphalt?

'Come with me 

and take one last walk

round disaster [...]. 

There are already 

red tulips in the garden. 

They are the last tulips, 

even though they are much more beautiful

than the yellow ones. 

- You think so? 

I have always liked those best. 

Their scent is like that of a fresh Easter spring, 

and their color 

like a pale winter morning

before life has returned

(once more). 

- I had forgotten ... 

But you did not mention their light, 

the way they shine on a pale full moon night, 

when all the stars are out ... 

- Yes, and their sound ... 

their sound is ... - 

But I would not miss a field 

of bright red tulips, 

under a blue and sunny sky: 

eternal token of love. ... 

- Love? - 

Yes love, ... 

Red has always 

been the choice of love ... 

- So it has ... 

But still, 

would it not be better 

not to love at all, 

than to have your heart 

broken one time too often? - 

Earth without love? 

How could life exist without love?

Would you like them to feed on sadness ... ? 

- They have always done so, 

like the carrion birds they resemble, 

feasting on death and disaster ... 

Sadness? 

Yes, they took sadness into their lives, 

as they could not have love ... - 

just as yellow tulips

carry the sound of a heart breaking ... [   ] 

You remembered ... 

- Yes, how could I ever forget ... 

this was the heart I have broken once too often ... - 

Surely not this one? 

- You think I could mend it? - 

Never thought so ... 

but how about a new one? 

- A new one? - 

Yes, an exchange of Hearts ... 

though I dare say, you wouldn't want mine. 

- You bet. [   ] 

Will you take my hand 

and come 

look at the tulips one last time? 

- Yes, I said I would. 

They are the saddest 

and yet the most beautiful flowers 

I remember on this Earth ... 

So we link hands, 

walk one last time 

through this crazy humanity, 

while fresh rain is falling on the asphalt. 

The tulips look so beautiful ... 

And yet they are only the beginning, 

the first ones to go ... 

as our hearts are shattered one time too often (...). 

Love? 

Who could live without love ... 

And as all piano keys 

falter over fresh spring rain, 

so do our steps, ... 

as the Crows stay silent, 

deprived of their wisdom, 

so does the heart of freedom, 

the heart of ev'rything - 

- shattered one time too often ... 

Our hands close, 

as our bodies fall to the ground, 

crushing Hope beneath them ..., 

there is no life without loving - 

though our eyes 

will not yet forever close [   ] - 

I can feel the asphalt beneath my arms, 

the rain on my skin, 

I can feel the tears in my eyes, 

and a heart still beating ... 

there are two hands clasped, 

as though to defy the end of the world - 

- let us walk free of this! 

(And rain keeps falling, 

as I think of all the broken hearts, 

as all the crows keep - feasting? - 

and the piano keeps playing 

- for the very first time - 

Yes, even tulips 

make the sound of a heart breaking ... ) 

      [   ] 

25. Juli 2016 copyright Lilly Lime