A Final Dream

(Beethoven collapsed at his piano
Saying to the Devil “we now have a deal.”
And Satan replied, “I’ll be gone from her life this very night
From here on happiness is all she will feel”

The devil then leapt with sheer delight
In evil ecstasy
Shouting for all to hear within sight
“The Tenth Symphony now belongs to me”

But while Beethoven sat face down at his piano
As if Satan’s boast he had not heard
Twist came up and pulled the composer’s sleeve
And said, “How do you know that the Devil will keep his word?”

The Devil did not even look up from the manuscript
Where he was examining his prize
“Don’t worry about hurting my feelings
With what your warped friend has implied

I see you have a bible on the table
Where you keep the statements from your bank
And, as you may have noticed, the last page of a bible
Is always left quite blank

Now, if you’ll just take that bible
And tear out that final page
You can write a contract of your own choosing
That will hold my word like a dragon in a cage

And if you don’t believe me
Just ask your good friend, Fate
For a contract written on such a holy page
Even I could never break”

Beethoven glanced up at fate
Who was still within his view
And she nodded her head gently
Acknowledging that the Devil’s words were true

The old man took the bible
And tore out the last page, as he was told
But when he tried to write, his hands, they shook
From nervousness or perhaps just from being old

These words would be his ending
But the words would just not come
As the Devil grew impatient
For the deal to finally be done

Fate took pity on the composer
And going gently to his side
Offered to write the contract
And the composer nodded his reply

She then took the paper
And with bold artistic strokes
Put down their agreement
And this is what she wrote

It is agreed upon this night, March 26, 1827 between the undersigned, that the music of the Tenth Symphony, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, firstborn son of Johann and Maria van Beethoven, of the city of Bonn, shall henceforth be the property of Mephistopheles. It is also understood that it is his intention to remove any signs of this music from the memory of man for all time. In exchange for the destruction of the aforementioned music it is also agreed that Mephistopheles and all his minions will remove themselves from the life of the child presently sleeping in the gutter directly across from the window of this room. This removal of influence is to be commenced immediately upon signing and to be enforced for all eternity

_____________________ _____________________
Ludwig Van Beethoven Mephistopheles

The Devil read it rapidly
And quickly signed his name
And slowly without looking up
Beethoven did the same

The Devil grinned a devil’s grin
And shoved the symphony over the candle’s flame
Savoring the fire that would consume it all
Forever erasing its name

But when the manuscript emerged from the fire
It was still all quite there
It wasn’t burned or even singed
There wasn’t even smoke wafting in the air

He took the symphony once again
And forced it to burst into flames
But once again it remained unsinged
And Mephistopheles looked for who to blame

Then the Devil heard a giggle
Escaping from a grinning dwarf
And looking around, saw Fate’s son, Twist
And he beckoned him to come forth

“Why is this symphony still here?
Why does it not ignite?
Tell me you gnome, what do you know?
For if it does not burn...you might”

Twist squirmed nervously before Satan
But could not hide his delight
As he explained how the music had survived
And would live long past this night

“The contract says that you now own
The Tenth Symphony
Written by the firstborn son, named Ludwig
Of the Johann and Maria van Beethoven family

Now, a little known fact of history
But I assure you, it’s totally true
That the composer had an older brother
Who was named Ludwig van Beethoven, too

Now this child died quite young
Before our composer here was born
So they named their second son Ludwig, also
Though you would think the name was getting worn

His older brother lived only days
And now is at rest with God
As to why they named their second son Ludwig too
Perhaps coming up with names back then was hard

So, according to the deal you signed
If the first Ludwig rises through his coffin boards
And writes nine other symphonies
The tenth one will be yours!”

The Devil’s face contorted
As he realized he’d been fooled
And the child outside was safe as well
For the contract’s words would rule

The floor opened into an abyss
And the Devil disappeared
As outside the storm subsided
And the stars shined in skies now clear

Beethoven stood up in confusion
Over what had just occurred
He realized the girl and the symphony were safe from what he had overheard

But he asked Fate why the Devil
Had not taken his soul to hell
“He never had your soul,” Fate said
“It was never his to sell”

“But the Devil, he said he owned it
From my sins that he did summarize”
“Well the Devil may have said that” fate replied back
“But, my dear, he’s the Devil, he lies”

“But I was rude and cruel in my life”
Beethoven answered with regret
“Yes,” Fate replied, “but the Devil left out
That those actions were often caused because you were deaf

And the pains that you caused in life
You worked twice as hard to undo
And those acts of kindness, even more than your music
That, my friend, is you

It is true that you made some mistakes in life
Sometimes you seemed rude or a fool
But it was always because of your deafness
And not because you were evil or cruel

You went out of your way your whole life
To try to amend those you hurt
And when God weighs your sins against your good deeds
The world will be glad of your birth”

“And what about Theresa?
Is it now truly too late?”
“You will see her again,” Fate replied
“For love, it will always wait

She’s on the other side of this night
Which is closer than it seems
And she will be there by your side
When you awaken from your next dream”

Slowly the shadows and spirits disappear. The room is now completely empty except for Beethoven who lies down on a cushioned window seat and drifts into his final sleep.)

(FATE)
Lay your head down
And sleep on my shoulder
Lay your head down
And start a new dream
And for tonight
The moment is over
Drift in a lullaby
Here where the stars reside
And angels are always seen

And lay your head down
The stars they have whispered
Hear what they say
And know that it means
The moon is your guide
The stars they have kissed her
As she goes gently by
Light as a baby's sigh
Safe on a fairy tale stream

And start a new dream

(Now you think our story’s over
And all have faded from this night
The ghosts, spirits and the Lady Fate
Have all faded out of sight

And just when all seemed silent
A window opened up
And Twist came in his face agrin
With what he had though up

And picking up the only copy
Of Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony
He slid it behind the clock on the wall
Where I think it still must be

And some time on some future day
No one can really say when
That manuscript will be discovered
And the music will live again

The End)