Dreamscape

You woke me, crying out in your sleep

That a part of you had died,

I could hear the birds by the window seat

As they woke and chattered outside,

So I turned and shook you gently

Thinking to ease your troubled mind,

‘I dreamt I’d been to my wake,’ you said,

‘And the folk were so unkind!’

 

‘It was only a dream,’ I thought to say

But my tongue was swiftly curbed,

You’d slipped so quietly out of the room

And the bed was undisturbed,

I followed, down to the kitchen but

You must have gone outside,

Out by the dear old mulberry bush

I could hear you, as you cried.

 

Your sister came and she made the tea

You were talking on the phone,

I could hear you in the solarium

So I took my tea alone,

Then I wandered down to the port, to watch

Them load the ships with grain,

And looked for you on the jetty there

But all I could feel was pain.

 

We’ve been together for forty years

But something’s rearranged,

I think you must be avoiding me

But I love you just the same,

You wave to me from the flower beds

As I sit in the old deckchair,

And read my book in a cosy nook

Then I look, and you’re just not there.

 

You talk to me in my dreams at night

And you say that you love me too,

And we wander hand in hand again

As we always used to do,

But I think that your mind is fading fast

You forget so much today,

But we’ll stick together through thick and thin

I’m there for you, come what may.

 

Your sister summoned the doctor, I

Was out by the kitchen door,

‘I think he’s looking for you, my dear,

But we’ll fool them, like before.’

She said, ‘He doesn’t accept the fact

That my sister fell asleep,

He’ll have to be put in a Nursing Home!’

I sit on the step, and weep!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Damien Davison]

That is so sad. I'm actually worried about that kind of thing in the end... I plan to be with my baby's mother until death do us part, but what of when our minds start to slip due to age, I hope she doesn't forget me or us or the past. Heh I get lost focusing on the future as much as the past... Very good write, I felt the pain...

[Rob Santana]

You have a huge heart and a creative mind.

[Frieda P]

Have little to say except this touched my heart to new depths. Beautifully written.

[Dinali Sathma]

I didn't understand it completely. Can you explain? However the melancholy was binding like a fog. The imagery was so profound and term such as " he dear old mulberry bush" and " You wave to me from the flower beds
As I sit in the old deckchair,
And read my book in a cosy nook " made the poem feel very realistic. There was a rigid rhyming scheme and you could tell it out so well.
I just wish I had another explanation on it.

[minisla]

wow emotional read David.

[A.r. Bazian]

David??! sir!
i think i should stop reading your poetry!
u break my heart, and me, to a thousand little pieces!
i wonder when you sleep at night,
have reckoning of what peace is?
my mind is barren, like once before,
i read a line of yours, or more...
to find my heart, stroked in blast...
to what i fear and cast...
u speak to my wonder, and my past,
an echo to my grief, at last!

u are a God!

[ms. barrie]

i agree with the reviewer below me:

You talk to me in my dreams at night
And you say that you love me too,
And we wander hand in hand again
As we always used to do,
But I think that your mind is fading fast
You forget so much today,
But we’ll stick together through thick and thin
I’m there for you, come what may.

such poetic poignancy within these words. this is exquisitely
written with eloquence and honesty. this is indeed a great write.
thank you for sharing adding this to my favorites :)

[Anniebugg]

"I sit on the step and weep" because, even though he is suffering from dementia, he knows his mind is not right. What a sad, sad realization that must be for someone who suffers from this horrible illness. You expertly managed to summon emotion and sympathy so deep that I was moved to weep with and for him. What a wonderful story teller you are David. The flow and rhythm of your narrative moves along so smoothly that I forgot it was a poem. And the rhyme sceme you use pushes our thoughts to the next line until we can't wait to get to the end. A mark of a gifted writer. Thank you.

[Alice Crypt; Brittany]

Wonderful, yet saddening.
"She said, 'He doesn't accept the fact
That my sister fell asleep.
He'll have to be put in a Nursing Home!'
I sit on the step, and weep!"
I had to reread this a few times, it was shocking to see at the end.

[hogan]

very evocative, sensed where it was heading just before you arrived there. Leaves a sad feeling, but that is intended, is it not?