What The Thunder Said, Vol 4 | Page 15

15

The Lovers’ Tune

by Sydney Harrison

Two people stroll past me

And I think

How nice they look

A queen and her king

With their hands clasped together

And their strides in perfect time.

Their laughs harmonize

To the beat of their

Synchronized steps.

As they pass the bed of flowers,

The king interrupts their tune

To present her majesty with a dainty rose

And her majesty responds with a smile

And blushing cheeks to complement the flower's lovely hue.

But as the queen leans in to smell the flower,

She sees it is not real;

The petals are hard, sheening plastic,

And the stem is made of rusted steel.

Now she listens again as they continue their walk,

And the music is not as sweet. It sounds like

Spoons on tin cans, not saxophones and drums.

It is gloomier today than she remembered it being

When they first began their walk:

Soon, the queen no longer recognizes her king's soft laugh,

Which is thin, now, like a deflating balloon.

Instead of fresh linen summer days, she hears the empty rain.

Were the clouds always covering the sun?