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They want to tell me long, complex tales:
- stories about double-tailed devils
- stories about one-eyed beasts
- with blood-stained teeth, emerging from the sea.
THE LAST FLOWER
| This poem was written for children , for an “anthology” of blown up poems to decorate a hospital ward for children in Britain . The project marked the accession of ten new countries to the European Union in 2004. Mario Azzopardi has been attached to education, especially in the fields of drama, literature and art since 1964. He is an animator and drama trainer attached to the Ministry of Educetion in Malta . He has also adapted stories for children and is currently preparing another anthology of legends from around the world. |
They all want to tell me stories.
They want to tell me long, complex tales:
- stories about double-tailed devils
- stories about one-eyed beasts
- with blood-stained teeth, emerging from the sea.
They want to tell me about dark forests
and shadows and cruel giants
and children locked up in ovens and cages.
They all want to tell me stories.
But I have my own story to tell.
It has a title: The Last Flower on the Island .
- The flower grew from cement.
- Shot up from chimney fumes.
- I picked it from a hole full of darkness.
- I picked it from the breath of a poor guy I know,
who sleeps his nights on manholes.
- I saved it from a wrecked fireworks factory.
- I picked it from the oxygen cylinder in hospital
when they brought in my friend and shaved his head.
- I have my own story about this lonely flower
living in the folds of time
in the heart of an abandoned temple.
A flower with all the colours of the earth.
My story would be real.
It won't be very long. And I must tell it to them.
Or I'll save it in a balloon and let it fly
hovering over the flat roofs
for the birds to listen to when they fly in from the north
or the moon
that watches over my tiny island.