The IslandA Poem by David Lewis PagetThey’d
all set off for an island, that Was
fifty miles off the coast, They
were only going to stay a day And
a night, or two at most, There
were seven men and a woman there On
a twenty metre yacht, The
sea was calm and the breeze was light And
the day was rather hot. ‘What
do you think we’ll find out there,’ Said
the salesman, Alan Brown, ‘Whatever
it is,’ the lawyer said, ‘It’s
away from the scum of town.’ ‘We’ll
probably find ourselves again,’ Said
the Judge, Lord Allenby, ‘In
a part of the world still pure, unspoiled Like
the way that we used to be.’ ‘We
may even find the Godhead,’ said The
Reverend Michael Shaw, ‘He
hasn’t been seen around for years And
that’s what I’m looking for.’ ‘I
doubt if you’ll find him way out here,’ Said
Franks, the Physicist, ‘Modern
Science has followed his tracks And
proved, he doesn’t exist.’ ‘Maybe
we’ll find the remains of men,’ Said
the archaeologist, ‘An
ancient settlement, tumbled down And
pottery shards, to list!’ ‘To
me, you sound like a crazy lot,’ Said
the butcher, Roger Dunn, ‘I
just want to score a wild boar So
I brought along a gun.’ They’d
sailed right into an island cove When
Mary Martin spoke, Her
eyes were dark and her hair was black And
she wore a scarlet cloak, ‘You’ll
not find anything that you seek But
the runes of Druid lore, For
this is the ancient gods retreat As
you’ll find, when you explore.’ They
rowed ashore in the dinghy Pulled
the boat high up on the sand, Then
each went off in his different way To
search for the inner man, The
Judge walked up to the highest cliff To
regret his judgement seat, And
as he fell to the rocks below Knew
all that he’d sown, he’d reaped. The
lawyer walked through the undergrowth And
fought his way through the vines, The
briars tore at his face and clothes As
he’d fought each case with lies, He
cried for help from the others as The
vines wrapped round his throat, But
couldn’t utter a plea for himself As
he fell to the ground, and choked. The
archaeologist had found The
ruins of ancient walls, And
thought of the riches taken back He’d
stolen from Mayan Halls, He’d
just unearthed a fabulous vase Encrusted
with amethysts, When
a wall collapsed, a future task For
some archaeologist. A
shot rang out, and it echoed then The
length of the island shore, The
Physicist dashed around the point Expecting
to see a boar. But
the butcher stood with his jaw agape By
the mouth of a cave, due south, For
the salesman bore lay dead on the floor So
he put the gun to his mouth. Franks
threw up as the butcher died But
walked right up to the cave, He
peered in as a rumble grew, A
voice dredged up from the grave, ‘You
don’t believe in a god that’s real You’re
wrong, there’s more than a few,’ The
ground then opened and swallowed him up, ‘Your
science has done for you!’ The
Reverend Michael Shaw was there When
the ground closed up again, Crossed
himself as he ran away And
he prayed and said, ‘Amen! He
pushed the dinghy down from the beach And
he rowed straight back to the yacht, ‘Preserve
me Lord, from a fate like that, If
that’s God, I know him not!’ When
Mary Martin got to the cave It
was late, was near on dusk, She
placed wild flowers there at the mouth With
a scent that smelled like musk, ‘I
come in peace, I’m a nature’s child, Though
I’ve come from a world of sin.’ The
voice then whispered, deep in the cave ‘For
your grace, just come right in.’ David
Lewis Paget © 2013 David Lewis PagetFeatured Review
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