And The Music Did Not Stop

On a warm summer evening, we were just sitting on a bench nearby the belfry of Mons, and talking a little. And as it was customary in those days, an old man stood up and told us a true story.

On November 11 of the year '18

the Great War was almost over

and that morning just before dawn

I sat by my window and saw

a man creeping down the street.

A bayonet gleamed

against the long blank wall

and a Canadian crawled

to the north, to the Germans,

to the house of my neighbor

where Cafe des Princes once stood.

This was the sign everyone had been waiting for:

they had come to liberate us

and there would be peace

at last, and suddenly

bells were sounding softly

in the night and bonfires

were lit.

I thought it had to be

the bell ringer who played in honor

of the men who came

to set us free, I thought

that was why he played the song

of the Angels of Mons who spread their wings

and outside in the first morning light

I saw something strange

happening on the square:

soldiers were sleeping, exhausted,

and people were dancing

all around them

because of the war

that had to be over now

soon.

And I went to the belfry

to thank the bell ringer

and when I got all the way up,

there was only

this heavenly

beautiful

girl.

An angel, an angel…

all in white -

and then she was gone

in a flash.

But listen, boy…

Listen to the carillon

and how it continued

to play and how

the music did not stop...

The poem and the photographs are part of the city game / mystery weekend we are organizing in Mons, Belgium - featuring: The Angels of Mons!