Voice in the Wind

I could hear her whispering under the trees

Whenever the breeze crept in through the pines,

And then when the Moon rose out of the sea

It soughed and it sifted out from the vines,

I’d stop and I’d listen, straining to hear

What the voice would sigh in the bright green sedge,

‘Ah me!’ it started, then faded away,

Went searching for dreams at the water’s edge.

 

I’d follow it down through the rocks and pools

As the tide swept in, and over my feet,

Down where the crabs and the lobsters ruled

A ledge that was straddled by Neptune’s seat.

The tremulous voice in the runnels there

Was inarticulate, ravaged with pain,

But the breakers crashed, and they drowned it out

When I called for the creature’s name, in vain.

 

But back in the shack on that lonely shore

Where I’d fled to, after the accident,

And lying awake I could hear the roar

Of the crash, the train where the tracks were bent,

And Jill was alive in my mind, alight

As she’d whispered, just as we overturned:

‘I want you to know that I’m yours tonight,

Though the stars have fallen, the heavens burned!’

 

Each morning I’d stare at the plaster wall

But thinking of nothing, my mind a blank,

I wouldn’t go anywhere else at all,

The funeral church had been dark and dank.

Her father had hated the sight of me,

The mother had blamed for her daughter’s life,

They’d pushed us together, couldn’t they see?

She hated them both and had paid the price!

 

My world is haunted by shades from the past

My future has limited time to play,

I hear a whisper arise from the sea

At the end of every gruelling day.

I hear the whisper and know it’s Jill,

Her spirit is free in the fading light,

I know what she’s saying, whispering still:

‘I want you to know that I’m yours tonight!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Arya Le Dasmones]

I absolutely love the way you introduce the subject of the poem, weaving it seamlessly into an ending that's just right. I love the rhythm, the message, the sorrow and the joy, the melancholy made beautiful. Thank you for sharing this inspiring poem!!!!

[Lena M. P.]

Beautiful, romantic and bittersweet. Young love, desperate love, the feeling that you are the only two in the world that cares so deeply and then death rips it away. That is a love you never lose. I had such a love. My parents hated him. He died in a car crash. I still remember. This poem brought it home for me. That isn't a bad thing. Just a reminder that it happens and the ghost plays in your soul forever.

[Heather]

Sad, I know how this feels to be searching for the voice of a loved one that has passed. I have a recording of my dad's voice that I have to listen to from time to time, just because..

lovely in meter David, sad in subject..but blessed you are in that you had her love, and can carry that with you.

[Marie]

A voice whispering in the wind...a lonely poem of lost love...

[MOON]

Poignant beautiful write so gracefully told.