Lachrymae Rerum (The Tears of Things)

Whilom, in a rainy day of early June,
While wand'ring in the Labyrinth of Solitude,
I met a loathsome soul that played a lovely tune.
What melodious notes he played on his lute!

Approached I the man and asked him:
"Why play you such lethargic melody?"
"For love's pains, there is no remedy,
I try to shelter in my useless whim."

And I to him: "I beg of thee, tell me,
Why suff'rest thou? There's nothing to regret.
But first tell me thy name, gentlest man,
Which I promise I shall never forget."

"Dunkel is my name, my foreign friend."
"That is the German word for 'dark', or not?"
"Indeed, like everything you get in life:
The painful memories, you know, and th'rest."

And then this dirous man, of name Dunkel,
Sensing my heart sought for melancholy, quod:
"I'll do as you command, my precious friend.
The story you are about to hear is sad indeed:

"I was young and playful, and all the rest,
My face was like the early morn: pure bliss.
I was a man of strength, and ample chest
I had blue eyes, and had good lips, to kiss.

"But I was dark of soul, empty of love.
At times I'd steal a loaf or two of bread,
For I was poor, and unemployed.
And stealing thus one night, I saw the girl.

"O! My dearest girl, whose name's Alice,
How clean and pure of thought and deed she was!
Compared to this sweet soul, I was malice.
And yea, I fell in love with her, alas!

"And O! Her eyes, so clear and so pure,
For my afflicted soul, they were the cure.
And aye, her gentle voice, so sweet, so cute,
It seemed it came from the tenderest flute.

"Then, by merit, or chance, I know not which,
She came to love my hideous soul, anon!
We talked and laughed, and loved it all!
We sat and loved each other, under a birch.

"She whispered then into my ear:
'I've never met a soul as sweet as thine.'
And I: 'In all this time, almost a year,
My love for thee grows in this soul of mine.'

"She asked me then to see her Pa'
To ask his daughter's hand, to marry her,
And I was joyous too, but, bah!
She was so rich and I, so poor.

"Yea, I was poor, and could not buy her jewelry
By honest means, except by treachery,
And thus I had to leave, for my dear girl,
Alice, should not accept a groom as poor as me.

"I lied to her; I said that on the morrow,
I would see her father, and talk to him,
And I insisted 'Endure no more sorrow.'
I lied again, to avoid her all this pain.

"That night we slept like children,
Careless, innocent, and truly alive,
But I had to flee; our love would be her burden,
And so I ran, ever fast, as if running from life.

"A week or so after my run, I heard about it,
The grimy death of my gorgeous girl, Alice.
I was asked to see her body, to recognise it.
All I saw was Guilt claiming my soul's treatise.

"She died, but I did not commit the crime.
It was her hand, the one I had caressed,
That took her soul out of her mortal dress.
She had a broken heart; she died of love... aye.

"And such was the Divine Sentence:
To roam alone in this same spot, this labyrinthine Pain,
Decaying for the eternity, without her Presence,
For I was guilty of loving, too much, in vain."

And after listening to Dunkel's tale,
The willows by our sides began to sob,
My fragile skin became ever so pale,
And from my eyes came tears. Yea, I sobbed.

But all became like ice, so paralysed,
And when one drop of rain had reached our hell,
I saw my self reflected, in this man's eyes,
For aye, we were the same, the one, Dunkel.

PS:This poem is still in its infancy, tell me what you think and I shall improve it.
Also, I'm not sure if this belongs in the love section. Anyways, criticism is welcome.

(C)Copyright 2005
(Hans Rik- nom de plume)