Two

A contest entry. A poem for an unusual museum visit. Picture is Monet's real work.

Two strangers, two hearts, two backgrounds,
on one afternoon of a summer's day,
The sunshine came through the museum's window
to light up a special picture,
the Bridge Over a Pond of Waterlilies.
A young man, a mortal, a soldier
stood in thoughtful silence
hearing only a stranger's footsteps interrupt
the tranquility of the room
She was a beautiful woman, an artist, an angel
looking at the picture, tilting her head, finding her breath to speak
Unexpectedly the pair was standing on the bridge
Holding hands, and gazing into each other's eyes
They turned and looked at their reflections in the water
as a frog jumped into it
Ripples in the water spread slowly from the center to the edge
As it ended, the couple had disappeared
from the bridge, the pond, the lilies
to a place of goodness, soft lights and immortality.