UncleA Poem by David Lewis Paget‘Good
riddance,’ I muttered, under my breath As
they closed the coffin lid, My
father clipped me around the ear, Then
said: ‘He’s just a kid! He
shouldn’t be here at the funeral, It’s
not a place for the young.’ But
I knew better, and glared at him He
knew I’d wanted to come. Just
to be sure and certain that He’d
never be coming back, I’d
skipped and pranced in my attic room When
I heard of his heart attack, I’d
crossed my fingers, muttered to God ‘Can
you please take him away!’ But
it took a couple of weeks before His
heart had stopped that day. He’d
stood so tall in his overcoat And
his form had filled the door, He
cast a shadow all over me As
I glared down at the floor, His
eyes were piercing, brows were grim When
he said, ‘How’s Jack the lad?’ I
felt like saying ‘Terrible now!’ He
made me feel so bad. My
heart would drop to my boots when he Came
calling in the rain, He’d
chat a bit with my mother, then Would
climb the stairs again. He
always came, and he’d close the door So
I’d feel both sad and trapped, He’d
say, ‘…you happy to see me lad?’ But
when he left, I clapped. I
thought of him as a monster with His
long and pointed teeth, He
looked like a picture of Dracula When
he grinned, they called him Keith. I
knew he was mother’s brother, but He
came from a different mould, From
something evil and slimy like A
demon, I’d been told. My
friend was into the evil ones And
he picked him right away, ‘He’s
one of the demons of Beelzebub, That’s
why he wants to play. He’ll
back you into a corner so You’ll
never get out the door…’ My
friend was right, and gave me a fright, Though
he was only four. My
mother, after the funeral Had
cried and hugged me close, ‘You
shouldn’t fret, or cry my pet…’ I
thought ‘Oh yes, that’s gross!’ I
stood looking out of the window At
the last of the winter rain, If
only he hadn’t pushed me aside So
he could play with my train! David
Lewis Paget © 2013 David Lewis PagetFeatured Review
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