You Can't Go Out Today!

He lay in bed and he watched the sun

Beam in through the double glaze,

The leafless treetops, withered and bent

In an unforgiving haze,

His wife lay sleeping, innocent

In a dream of former times,

As the clock downstairs in the hallway gave

The last of thirteen chimes.

 

He slipped on down to the basement, tried

To leave his wife in grace,

Took heart, looked over his shoulder just

To see her peaceful face,

Then carefully donned the gamma suit

That they’d issued with the hood,

And slipped on out through the airlock to

Assess the neighbourhood.

 

The visibility through the haze

Was down to fifty feet,

The yards were blackened and burned of

Every house along the street,

He checked each one with an open door

Where the occupants had fled,

But every now and again he’d find

They’d not be gone, but dead.

 

He’d make a note of the time of day

Of the house, its street address,

And note if any had decomposed

So the squad could clean the mess,

His friends peered out from their windows

Watched and mouthed their mute dismay,

While he would hold up a sign to them,

‘You can’t go out today!’

 

It took him an hour to check each block

That he’d got from Air Defence,

He’d watch the flickering LED

And would note the roentgens,

The cloud had covered the neighbourhood

But would move along, they said,

The dust-storm muted the morning sun

And at night, the sky was red.

 

The Homeland Squad would deliver food

To the ones without supplies,

Would drop their cases of powdered milk

To stem the babies cries,

While Gordon Hay would complete his day,

Rush back to his lady, Sky,

Wash off the hood and the gamma suit

And hang it on up to dry.

 

She’d dressed and put on her make-up

Added a touch of rouge to her cheeks,

And said, ‘I’m going to pop right out,

I haven’t been out for weeks.

I need to go to the supermart,

And visit the folks on the way,’

Then waited for Gordon to shake his head,

‘You can’t go out today!’

 

‘I’m sick of hearing you saying that,’

She stamped, and she burst in tears,

‘How long do you think you can keep me in,

This might go on for years!

You go out there in your funny suit

And there’s nothing wrong with you,

While I’m stuck here with our baby girl,

I want to go walking, too.’

 

She waited until he was fast asleep

And the baby fed and dried,

Then quietly opened the airlock, took

A breath, and she walked outside,

The dust was thick and the air was hot

And her skin began to burn,

She thought she’d better buy sunscreen

At the shop, on her return.

 

The supermarket was boarded up,

And so were the local shops,

She didn’t see anyone on the street

Not even the local cops,

Her folks refused to answer the door

Her friends had waved her away,

And Gordon’s words had hung in the air,

‘You can’t go out today!’

 

She turned, went back to her home, and found

The airlock had been barred,

She beat in vain on the window pane

But her husband’s words were hard,

He saw the blisters, over her face

And the pustules on her skin,

His tears were based on her lack of grace

As he said, ‘You can’t come in!’

 

‘I have to protect our baby girl

And I’ll do whatever it takes,

I love you Sky, but you’re going to die,

We pay for our own mistakes.

You always were too stubborn for me

And you had to have your way.’

She cried in dread at the words he’d said:

‘You can’t go out today!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Tate Morgan]

‘I have to protect our baby girl

And I’ll do whatever it takes,

I love you Sky, but you’re going to die,

We pay for our own mistakes.

You always were too stubborn for me

And you had to have your way.’

She cried in dread at the words he’d said:

‘You can’t go out today!’
I was married to a woman like that. And thankfully she has to pay for own sins lol God knows i paid for her long enough

[Daniel Sala]

Speechless, almost. This is a great poem, I had no idea what the theme was going to be from the title. As ever, flows beautifully, perfectly, and the sad tale it contains is very prescient.

[TL Boehm]

I am a "cold war baby" born in 65 - I lived in abject fear of "the BOMB" and this poem brings that back - you are such an amazing story teller

[Strider Marcus Jones]

A terrifying drama of the future, played out in real time. Great rhythm, language, rhyming and storytelling. 100/100

[Marie]

This reminds me of a science-fiction story I read manyyears ago of this terrible time...a chilling tale...

[M. Stein]

Another wonder. I always enjoy reading your poems.

'You were always too stubborn for me.

And you had to have your way

She cried in dread at the words he'd said

You can't go out today