The Devil and Demon Park

The girl that captured my heart, I knew

As Angela Dupree,

She stood at the centre of every group

At the university,

The comb in her hair was tortoiseshell,

Her necklace, crosses and beads

And silver bangles jangled her wrists

While her dress trailed lace at the knees.

 

The hair that fell at her shoulders was

More silvery then, than grey,

She said: ‘It’s a strange genetic thing

That came from my grandma’s way!’

We went to the self-same English tute

But she barely spared me a glance,

She favoured the sweatier, sporting type

So I didn’t stand much of a chance!

 

I’d watch her in the refectory

As she sipped her herbal teas,

But glanced away from the leering mob,

From their ribald jokes, and pleas,

As each of them tried to seize her hand

And vie for her every smile;

While soaking in their adoring spin

She basked in their wit, and guile!

 

They’d form a huddle beside the quad

With Angela at the core,

And pass the tokes with their feeble jokes

But kept their eyes on the door,

She came to the tutes all glassy-eyed,

And dreamed, not saying a word,

‘Til the tutor noticed, took her aside,

But I doubt if she even heard.

 

She failed a paper on Rupert Brooke,

I saw the look of alarm,

She’d never failed an assignment yet

But I saw the tracks in her arm,

Her face grew troubled, her brow was dark

With the slide, already begun,

Down to the Devil and Demon Park

And on to oblivion!

 

I found her sitting alone one day

And sat right down by her side,

‘Your ‘friends’ will take you to hell and back

But they’re just along for the ride!’

She looked at me and she curled her lip:

‘So why would you even care?’

But she saw the love-light shine in my eyes,

As I caught the scent of her hair!

 

She wept, and muttered: ‘It’s far too late,

I’m weak, and sick as can be!

All I can think is - how can I score?

Get rid of this devil in me!’

‘There isn’t an easy path,’ I said,

‘But start by taking my arm,

I’ll see you clear, though the demons jeer,

And I’ll keep you free from harm!’

 

I spent a week in her unit there

As she twisted, turned, perspired,

I mopped her brow and I gave her strength

Though she swore, and cursed, and cried.

There were times that she said she hated me,

There were times that she lay and wept,

She would suffer the fits of pain and cramps,

But there at the end, she slept!

 

I’d like to say that it all worked out

That we fell in love in the end,

But once recovered, she kissed me, said:

‘I will treasure you, as a friend!’

I was there when she married a banker’s son,

Was feeling a tear begin,

But she saw me then, and she whispered, ‘Hush!

An Angel has just come in!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Mark]

Oh what we will do for love eh? I wonder if the narrator had not felt the attraction if he'd still have done the same? There is something to be said about love for love's sake.

Good structure though there are a couple places where the rhymes seem forced. I'm as guilty of that as anyone else in my own writing. Telling a tale using such structure is work, hard work, to get it just right.

Good job overall and this is definitely a work I can identify with.

[HaleythePoet]

I absolutely love the poems and stories you write. You're one of the people on this site that inspires me to try different things with my poetry to make it better. I was captivated the entire time by this read and I cannot wait to read the next.

[Dean Kuch®]

Oh, what inspiring tales from days of yore you do tell. Even your poems with a 'darker side' can't help but resonate hope and forgiveness. As usual, the flow of this was flawlessly executed, the prose witty and...
crisp. So he said, with dread, to the poets bed, "Oh why must I talk with a lisp!??"

Fascinating, as always David!