The Tragedy of Madame Irf

I

The tale of Madame Irf is one you may have heard before. But if you listen close you'll find
A memory may spring to mind,
I'm certain it is worth a little visit here once more.

She truly was a precious child, could you have seen her then.
As cherubim are meant to be;
No scar nor blemish one could see ---
Those days before she came into the company of men.

Her infant years were comforted by twinkling newborn stars;
With coverlets of cosmic dust
To placate her and build her trust
On dark and lonely nights, not so much different now than ours.

Her parents both were distant and gave little of their time;
More apathetical than cruel,
They spun her off to boarding school
Where all expected her to be a lady most refined.

Abandoned in this way made her a horrid, little girl;
She fumed with black, volcanic ash,
And wept with salty, tidal splash,
Though sometimes patience can transform a pebble to a pearl.

And so, in much this way she whiled her early childhood years
With manic moods of vast extreme;
From rage, like heated tropic steam,
To glacial, cold indifference; from calm content to tears.

Most felt her violent shifts in frame of mind made it quite clear;
She’d never grow to be genteel
Her disposition, not ideal,
Yet, as she grew to womanhood, so changed her atmosphere.

Her tempered disposition gave her humor grace and ease,
Her face was steady, calm and fine;
Her acid poised with alkaline;
An equilibrium she’d reached by measures and degrees.

It’s fortunate for her, for she was now a debutante,
And relatives met to confer ---
A cotillion was planned for her,
Her mousy days were done, she’d now have anything she’d want.

 

II

Her ‘coming out’ was witnessed by the bachelors of the day;
The quick and anxious, Mercury,
And Mars, with his hostility,
His father, Jupiter, and many more along the way.

They bowed and kissed her knuckle, and then danced the whole night through,
They flirted here and flattered there,
Yet each seemed painfully aware
That she was not the type that they could easily pursue.

For weeks after the gala, one by one, her suitors tried
To trap her heart or catch her eye,
Or flaunt what presents they could buy,
But each awkward advance at her was hastily denied.

The more she stayed aloof, each beau’s desire grew more sound.
They tried but they could not ignore
Each day she just intrigued them more
Now, she was the most eligible bachelorette around.

Yet, just as quickly as she’d risen through the status ranks,
Strange rumors seemed to spring to life,
That though a virgin and no wife
That she had been the victim of some strange, maternal pranks.

The gossip was that now she had at least four kids in hand.
No one could claim that they knew more,
And though convinced she was no whore,
Could not explain this circumstance, for none could understand.

While some explained it as a miracle of providence,
Still others felt there must be clues,
Some explanation they could choose
For no one chaste gives life in strings of mystic accidents.

But one close friend who’d known mademoiselle as she had grown,
Related that the babies there
Were found upon the bottom stair,
All huddled in a bassinet and sleeping all alone.

Though some might have been frightened, our young girl did not protest
Although no note was ever found,
She made them all feel safe and sound
For something in their coos stirred something dormant in her breast.

In that brief moment standing on that lonely flight of stairs,
Her heart and mind were never torn
Her spirit seemed to be reborn;
This chance to be a mother seemed the answer to her prayers.

A silent vow then left her lips; she promised there to give
Her all to nurture and to raise,
For eons, ages, months or days,
The four young infants she was now in charge of helping live.

III

Right from the very start she did her duty all alone
From lullabies to diaper change,
Each intimate and sweet exchange
Were made as if each child were truly nothing but her own.

She’d bathe them at the river’s shore at dusk or eventide,
And place each babe on mossy beds
With feathered down to rest their heads,
Such solace she provided them, they never whined or cried.

Like any child, they grew more quickly than she’d hoped they would,
With bated breath she watched them walk,
And coyly coaxed them each to talk,
And taught them every useful lesson that she thought she should.

The greatest of these morals was a kind, respectful love;
She blew them kisses on the breeze,
Embraced them with the limbs of trees,
Caressed their youthful bodies with the sun’s rays from above.

“In life, you mustn’t take more than you need,” she’d often say.
“And give back all that you can spare.
“All living things partake and share
Each one unto the other; perfect balance, every day.”

Yet, as a mother she so seldom took her own advice
She gave far more than she could spare
And took far less than was her share
To raise strong, healthy children was enough and would suffice.

In time, of course, they each prepared to set out on the road;
To leave the nest and make their way,
Much to their mother’s deep dismay,
To carve their niche and prove the worth of all they’d been bestowed.

She held them close and kissed their cheeks, her manner quite distraught.
She made one teary-eyed request,
With both her hands clutched to her breast,
That they would not forget their mother, nor the things she’d taught.

Four nodding heads assured her that they’d hold her lessons dear,
And she seemed pleased that they had vowed.
Quite certain now they’d make her proud;
She showered them with blessings that they’d thrive and persevere.

They squeezed her hands and dried her tears, and this seems apropos:
They waved farewell and turned to leave,
None wishing now to see her grieve,
But walked off down the stairs where they’d been rescued long ago.

 

IV

 

Despite their best intentions and the promises they’d sworn,
Their visits home grew less and less,
And they seemed eager to transgress
Against beliefs and values they’d been taught since they were born.

They each became obsessed by nothing but their own affairs;
Concerned for all their wants and needs,
Their lives consumed with selfish deeds;
Cold cash and profit’s all they ever asked for in their prayers.

In their quests for dominance in all financial spheres
They damned all mores, laws, and norms,
Denied attempts to make reforms,
And laughed about their victim’s after hours over beers.

On conquered backs they rose to power, swiftly and with haste.
To slash and burn, contaminate
To strip, pollute and devastate;
They’d only time to focus on their filthy greed and waste.

But one day, in a meeting planned to help them squander more,
A letter came and all grew still.
It read: “Your mother‘s taken ill.”
And this was news that even they could not for long ignore.

Begrudgingly, the four agreed, the meeting to postpone.
Without emotional display
They buckled shut each attache,
Prepared to make arrangements for the somber visit home.

 

V

Upon arrival, all four then were ushered to her bed;
By now she looked so much deceased,
They nearly cried out for the priest,
But just before they could, she sweetly smiled and raised her head.

“My babies! You have all returned to nurse me back to health!
“Although I must admit it’s true ---
Your visit’s sorely overdue
To see your precious faces fills my heart with warmth and wealth!”

“Dear, Mother?” Adam asked her, “is there anything you need?”
“Perhaps a blanket,” Lilith said.
“A pillow,” Eve asked, “for your head?”
“Or I could make you supper,” Enoch said, and they agreed.

“No, no,” she weakly shook her head. “I only need fresh air.”
So, Adam propped the pane ajar
While lighting up a new cigar,
And belching clouds of reeking smoke around them everywhere.

“Oh, thank you,” coughed their mother. “May I have something to drink?”
“I’ve just the spirits,” Lilith said,
And filled the cup there by the bed
With colorless grain alcohol, and gave her mom a wink.

“No wonder you’re so weak,” cried Eve. “You look so weighted down!
“You’ve no need now for all this gold
Or diamonds ,” she said, taking hold
Of her radiant necklace and both bracelets with a frown.

While Enoch stood and watched their irresponsible display,
No protest passed his tight, pursed lips
As he stood with his hands on hips,
But found it so much easier to simply look away.

"I see now," whispered Madame Irf, "you've disobeyed your pledge.
"You've overtaxed and spilled and drained;
Soiled and fouled," her voice explained.
"What say you four in your defense against what I allege?"

"You simply do not understand demand," Adam replied.
"We cannot share! We must make more!
"To plunder is no easy chore!
"It takes great effort to cast frugal interests aside."

"Your thoughts on how all things depend upon each other here
Are truly quaint," young Lilith smiled.
"But in the 'real' world, they're reviled."
"Besides," Eve added, "they are truly antiquated, dear."

Their mother closed her eyes and tried to block the words she'd heard.
"My children, there may still be time,
But you must stop this vicious crime.
"How could these acts of negligence be those you have preferred?"

"Relax now, mother," Adam soothed, exhaling clouds of smoke.
"And have that drink," Lilith implored,
As Eve removed the rings she wore,
And suddenly, old Madame Irf began to cough and choke.

This violent fit would not last long before it would subside;
It's hard to guess how much they cared,
They shed no tears, but blankly stared,
Her import not yet realized, the day their mother died.

 

VI

 

Without her now they all regressed to prior, childlike states;
They hadn't re'lized just how great
Her role in all four sibling's fate,
And now her loss had left them all in very desperate straits.

Without her love or her support, they groped through life as blind.
Reliance on her sustenance
Had now come at their own expense;
Their mother'd been correct; their destiny's were intertwined.

They recognized their wastefulness as liabilities,
But recognition came too late
And left them in an urgent state
And left them with no power, but unplugged utilities.

They shivered in the cold, they hadn't gas or heat no more;
The faucets now were all bone dry,
No light they saw in sunless sky,
And mother wasn't there to fill the pantry at the store.

They cursed their ignorance, and where they now were doomed to dwell
Their actions had a weighty price,
They should've taken mom's advice
For just like Mother Irf, they now have died off just as well.