The Drowning of Robert Schumann

The world
An overwhelming presence
Creative sparks can ignite a conflagration
Dry brush consumed like napalm on fire

A few days of rest and the underbrush and trees have re-grown afresh
The landscape prepared again for another sacrifice

Some of us have countless internal realms
Some only a few
Eventually there is black infertile dirt
From which no vegetation can be coaxed

Schumann’s was spent early
His obsession with Clara ate him alive
He used to keep track of the number of times he rode Clara into the sunset
Their lovemaking served only to inspire her
To greater prowess at the piano

One wonders at what sounds were aroused in Schumann’s mind
When he tried to drown himself in the icy waters of the Rhine
And how the music would have ended with his life

To hear the author's mp3 reading and to hear his composition “The drowning of Robert Schumann,” click here.