Down & Out!

He suddenly felt he was down and out,

He’d been down and out before,

The time that his wife had packed her trunk

And sallied out through the door,

There are things that leave a bitter taste

And to lose a wife was one,

To lose another was carelessness

But that’s what the fool had done.

 

How often she said it would end like this

But it fell on empty air,

Each time she’d started to rave, he’d run,

She’d turn and he wasn’t there.

He’d go and drink in the local pub

Or gamble a hefty sum,

And roll back home with an empty clip

No money, and just as dumb.

 

She didn’t wait ‘til he came back home

On the night she packed her bags,

He turned the corner and she sailed by

In the Taxi of Randolph Skaggs,

He walked on in to an empty house

The carpets gone from the floor,

His footsteps echoed into the hall

And up to the second floor.

 

She’d left his dinner, cold on a plate

With a note from Shiralee,

‘You’d better enjoy this cold collate

It’s the last you will get from me!’

She’d signed her name with a flourish then,

And left him a last P.S.,

‘I’m halfway sorry it ends like this

But I guess it’s just for the best.’

 

He sat in the dark with misty eyes

‘Til the clock had struck midnight,

He couldn’t get up to save his life,

Not even to turn on the light,

He felt that he’d failed in everything

He’d not even given her kids,

The doctor said he was firing blanks,

He couldn’t win one for quids.

 

His mind roamed over the past few years,

‘Did anything come out right?’

The silence settled and sparked his fears

In the depths of that lonely night,

He found the bottle of scotch he’d hid

And savoured the Single Malt,

Then drank it all, as he always did,

‘Had everything been his fault?’

 

He staggered up to the attic room

Looked under the fold-up bed,

Then picked up one of the guns he kept

And held it up to his head,

He thought that Death with its open arms

Would resolve his problems, quick,

Then pulled the trigger with screwed up eyes,

But all that he heard was ‘click!’

 

He frowned, and picked up another gun

The first one must have misfired,

Then tried again for a second ‘click!’

He suddenly felt so tired,

He found the note that his wife had left,

‘You ought to be giving me thanks!

You’re such a dope, but I love you still…

I loaded your guns with blanks!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Strawberry]

Picked this one by chance (you have so many!) and I'm inclined to go off and read the rest now.

It was emotive, yet funny and ironic at the end. I love how there is the sudden change. I also love the message and the blame that is placed upon the persona. The wife obviously knows her husband that well, it makes you wonder who is to blame for the break-up.

[Little Whisper]

Oh my gosh... with teary eyes... I was so thankful at the end....

[Little Whisper]

I must admit, I'm just half-way through your poem... I got to " I'm halfway sorry it ends like this..." I just had to pause to say.... I'm feeling the empty house through your words.. I don't know yet how it ends... but, that halfway sorry got my attention....
Now... fingers crossed for him... I'm reading on. :)

[A Jainam Mehta]

It has always been a great pleasure, while reading your poems.

[David Scott]

We often do not realize what others are trying to do to love us...
A great lesson in this read David. As usual, a fine story was told as well.

[Becky C Strukamp]

what a read!!! You inevitably captivate ones attention and just when the reader thinks they have figured the conclusion you hit em with such a blast of pure genious. Your story telling continues to amaze, entertain and elicit a smile on a cold chilly night.

[Male Stokes Jr]

I think this is a glimpse into a life that many people have lived..

[D. Martin]

Wow, that was awesome. I really am not into poetry but that was just down right suspenseful. Lol Wonderful.

[LJW]

What a turnaround at the end.

Brilliant.

Your one of a small handfull of writers I admire on this site.

[Devanshu Rajput]

another master piece...i would compare your poems with great poets.....100/100