The Bears on the Stair

I sit at night in a darkened room

And rest my eyes from the glare,

The mirror’s cracked in the hallway, and

Another’s cracked by the stair,

I see myself in a thousand shards

Where none of the pieces fit,

I can’t put myself together again

Since I fell in the Devil’s pit.

 

My wife lies up in the bedroom, but

She’ll never come down the stairs,

She said she’s scared of the squares and lines,

Would hate to step on the bears,

I used to tell her they wouldn’t bite

Until she said I was sick,

I’d drowned the puppies by candlelight

And beat the cat with a stick.

 

Each night, I listen for heartbeats

That go tick, and then they stop,

She said she’d go when the Holy Ghost

Came in to wind up the clock,

She sleeps with her left eye open, sees

Each shadow that moves on the wall,

And screams while I, with my eyes reply

‘The shadows are after us all.’

 

The last time I can remember that

I mounted that set of stairs,

She went for me with a carving knife,

I haven’t been up for years.

I hear her calling to ‘Come on up!’

In a voice that’s like a chime,

But lie well hid in the music room

From the scene of that bloody crime.

 

Whenever the Bobbies are round about

Outside in the gaslight flare,

I lock the windows and bar the doors

And tremble under a chair,

I douse the candle and hold my breath

When I hear their footsteps stop,

And wait for the Black Maria, and

The rope and the sudden drop.

 

One night they’ll beat on the old oak door,

I know they’ll be coming soon,

They’ll hear the wife scream ‘Murder!’ from

The depths of her darkened room,

And when they do I shall let them in

And point the way to the stairs,

For then they’ll step on the lines, and may

Be eaten up by the bears.

 

David Lewis Paget

 

(Lines and Squares by A.A. Milne

 

Whenever I walk in a London street,
I'm ever so careful to watch my feet;
And I keep in the squares,
And the masses of bears,
Who wait at the corners all ready to eat
The sillies who tread on the lines of the street
Go back to their lairs,
And I say to them, "Bears,
Just look how I'm walking in all the squares!")

 

Reviews

[TL Boehm]

The codependency of insanity - are we attracted to others who are the same or do we meld over time. This poem - so wonderfully written carries such irony - the rhyme, the lilt to the words - it reads like a jaunty little story - but if one pays attention to what is being told - it carries such darkness, such horror and sometimes that is the real human condition. What we pass off as a simple tale - is really a light shone into the horror of the human heart. I agree with Rita, very Poe esque.

[roarke]

I always wonder what went bump in the night.... my miss's is much more subtle though. lol

I like how you included the inspiration. And you've made a fine original extrapolation with more wit and ware. Fun stuff.

[quinfinn]

hmmm, teddy bears picnic in reverse? David, i don't begin to try to comprehend that incalculable wit of yours in these writes, but i know what i like, and i love the way you wax poetic with whatever you do. brilliant!

[SyberRose]

this is so cute...reading with a smile on my face...a fun and humorous write...Rose:)

[Kris]

If only all stories could be penned in poetry, and by you! This is naught but amazing work of art - every word, every line, every rhyme. Not to mention - the storyline's great. Reading your work is fascinating. Thank you for sharing yet another amazing piece!