Visiting Mozart on an April Morning When the Lilacs in St. Marx are blooming

Nature's Nurture
The cemetery of St. Marx
was closed 135 years ago, in 1874,
yet to this day in mid-April
the hundreds of lilac bushes lining its walkways
and leaning over gravestones and memorials
turn this quiet place alive with a chorus of colours,
showering it in shades of lavender.

Walking along its paths,
stepping from the warm bright light of the midday sun
into the cool shade of lilac bushes and chestnut trees,
breathing air filled with the heavy scent of lilac blossoms,
fills my soul with peace and gratefulness about being alive.

An angel's wings,
in the shade of an ancient cedar tree,
which has been completely covered by a mighty ivy plant,
turning it into an ivy tree.

Most of the remaining gravestones
are from the Biedermeier period.

St. Marx is the last Biedermeier cemetary remaining,
not only in Vienna, but the whole world.

Rows and rows
of gravestones and lilacs,
hard to choose which ones
to show you.

Cherry blossom time
preceded the lilacs,
while red and white chestnut trees
are about ready to break into full bloom.

I have visited St. Marx
in late fall and winter,
when gardeners were trimming the lilac bushes.
The resources are scarce,
yet - incredibly - access to this heaven
is free, open to Viennese and visitors alike.

Many visitors
come here to visit the Mozart memorial,
erected where his earthly remains were most likely
buried - the exact location is not known, though.

Lilac blossoms
surround this hallowed grounds,
while the memorial itself is decked out
in a gaudy riot of colours, primulas,
fading fast in the heat of the late spring sun.

Photographed by Merisi
on Monday, April 20, 2009
Images and text © Merisi
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