Wow, thank you for the wonderful feedback. I've had a few lousy days and this is just what I needed. I'm very happy you all liked it, in spite of its gloominess.
And yet, that single, last line, with its hint back to that moment when Clark first saw Lois in Perry's office, which tells us that he has at last found his Lois again
I'm glad it wasn't too obscure an ending. I felt it needed to end on a hopeful note, but I didn't want to come right out and say, "He's in heaven now and Lois is waiting for him." Since I don't even believe in stuff like that...
Picturing Clark outliving his family, his descendants and the entire population of earth - if the former weren't already enough - has to be a very sad thing.
Yes. Yes it is. I don't know what got into me. Maybe I need to lay off Enya.
Also, I can't help but be reminded of a poem I've heard and read years ago from some TV show. There's probably no exact title but it's the first entry on The Poetry of "Space", a website dedicated to the show Space Above and Beyond.
I've never seen that show and I hadn't read that particular piece of writing, but it does fit very well. Eerie how that works.
Wow, some of the authors on this site amaze me. I go to read a story expecting one thing and I walk away with another.
Thank you. Just out of curiosity, what were you expecting?
So, so pretty. I absolutely love the imagery, the snippets of memories, which all add to the dreamlike quality of it. It really enhances the mood of the piece while keeping all it's delicacy. The ending mantained that delicacy too, keeping with the overall flow, without seeming contrived or excessive.
Thanks. I'm glad you liked the ending. Like I said, I'm happy it worked and wasn't too weird or contrived or downright sappy.
Do you know the movie "The Green Mile"? I thought the end of it was horrific, because for the first time it made clear to me what immortality would really mean for a person. Your fic renembers me very strongly of that scene at the end of that movie.
I'm reminded of the scene in Smallville when the guy who sees everyone's death doesn't see death for Clark. He only sees an endless existence.
I've haven't seen "The Green Mile" or that particular episode of "Smallville", so that's a coincidence. I did mention my main sources of inspiration in my author's notes. I suppose it's not that original a premise, so it doesn't surprise me that it's been done before.
I wonder, was the title a deliberate mention from the poem "To His Coy Mistress?" (At least I think that's the name of the poem that the line "had I but world enough and time . . ." came from.)
Yes, it is a deliberate reference to the line "Had we but world enough, and time" from Andrew Marvell's poem--although, of course, the meaning of it is very different in the context of this vignette. I had assumed that everyone would recognize it since that particular phrase has seeped into our culture and has been used repeatedly in other works of literature etc. in the past.
Thanks again, everyone.