You are walking along expecting nothing but desolation and out of the blue you come upon a flower pushing its way through the pavement. Reminded me of the book "THE LAST FLOWER" by cartoonist James Thurber. The dedication is "FOR ROSEMARY in the wistful hope that her world will be better than mine" written in 1939.
I hope you too will find your flower.
"World War XII as everybody knows brought about the collapse of civilization
Towns, cities and villages disappeared from the earth. All the groves and forests were destroyed.
And all the gardens and all the works of art
Men, women and children became lower than the lower animals.
Discouraged and disillusioned dogs deserted their fallen masters
Emboldened by the pitiful condition of the former lords of the earth rabbits descended upon them
Books paintings and music disappeared from the earth
And human beings just sat around doing nothing. Years and years went by
Even the few generals who were left forgot what the last war had decided
Boys and girls grew up to stare at each other blankly, for love had passed from the earth
One day a young girl who had never seen a flower chanced to come upon the last one in the world
She told the other human beings that the last flower was dying
The only one who paid any attention to her was a young man she found wandering about
Together the young man and the girl nurtured the flower and it began to live again
One day a bee visited the flower and a humming bird
Before long there were two flowers, and then four and then a great many. Groves and forests flourished again
The young girl began to take an interest in how she looked
The young man discovered that touching the girl was pleasurable
Love was reborn into the world. Their children grew up strong and healthy and learned to run and laugh
Dogs came out of their exile. The young man discovered by putting one stone upon another how to build a shelter. Pretty soon everybody was building shelters. Towns, cities and villages sprang up.
Song came back into the world and troubadours and jugglers and tailors and cobblers and painters and poets
And sculptors and wheelwrights and soldiers and lieutenants and captains and generals and major generals
And liberators. Some people went one place to live and some another
Before long those who went to live in the valleys wished they had gone to live in the hills and those who had gone to live in the hills wished they had gone to live in the valleys
The liberators under the guidance of GOD set fire to the discontent so presently the world was at war again
This time the destruction was so complete that nothing at all was left in the world
Except one man and one woman and one flower."
