At first I had heard she was living back in Paris,
Yet a little later I lost track of her,
Then one day I received an urgent message,
That she was at death’s door in Hanover.
At the start she said, ‘Do not ever fall in love with me,’
I answered, ‘Yes,’ yet that was but a lie,
For already I had become besotted,
If I could not win her heart then I would surely die.
They say time heals a lost devotion,
Yet in truth I never found that so,
Each day of the decade since she departed,
Each day brought with it a new low.
Regardless, at the news of her grave affliction,
Across the Channel onto Germany I rushed,
I found her at her lodgings in Hanover,
And arrived more than a little flushed.
Even so very ill she still retained great beauty,
Lying under swathes of blankets upon her bed,
I leaned forward and gently kissed her gelid brow,
And by way of riposte this is what she said.
“How on earth have you discovered me?
I really thought I had lost you; you twat for good,
For you to see me thus causes me annoyance,
So bugger off back to England – understood?”
Tail between my legs I took of my leave,
For she had clearly put me in my place,
So I found a little bar off Luisenstrasse,
And drunk so much that I was off my face.
In the morning I was told she had passed away,
Only an hour after I had left the previous night,
She had however penned me a short note,
That read, ‘You always were a bore and none too bright!’
A masterpiece and it brings back memories, but of course. I seem to recall a sweet soprano voice saying “What the hell do you want?” a few times in my career. Came as a shock, it did.
I know that feeling so well. My love life as a younger man was a nightmare – to the extent I think most of my characters are based on me, the accomplished ‘twat.’
Hey at least we kept giving it a shot! Not as bad as banging my noggin on a wall, but close.
Hello there,
I have nominated you for The Dragon’s Loyalty Award! You can see the details on my blog at http://rachelcarrera.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/the-dragons-loyalty/. 🙂
~Rachel
Cheers.
This was very delightful…at least I assume this is a fictional account, for I wouldn’t wish this kind of rejection upon anyone. On the odd chance it is real: I feel sorry for the woman that died not appreciating what it is to be loved, even if it is by a not too bright bore;)
Cheers for that – with this I started out trying to write an almost serious piece capturing the essence of Europe twixt the wars (a time in history that fascinates me). About half way through I did what I always seem to do and killed it stone dead with a daft ending – can’t help myself really!
echoes of “La Boheme”
I am none to sure the bore I write of in the first person was/is a bohemian! Then again that is probably why you wrote ‘echoes’ – I should have thought this through a little better! Cheers.