Never Come Here Again!

He trudged on up from the great seaport

After a year at sea,

And in his mind was a single thought,

That thought was Emily.

He’d got her note when he disembarked

In the pouring, driving rain,

And read it under a single spark:

‘You may never come here again!’

 

‘Never come here again,’ it said,

What was that meant to mean?

The blood had rushed to his sailor’s head,

He conjured a nightmare scene,

He thought of the tidy garden path,

Of seeing a man at the door,

And Emily hiding behind his hat,

A man he’d not seen before.

 

Perhaps the year was too long to wait,

She hated it on her own,

He’d often suffered a lack of faith

That she could remain alone.

He’d conjured visions in distant ports

At the curious lack of mail,

While he had written his deepest thoughts

To post them before he sailed.

 

He’d thought of her at the village dance,

He’d thought of her down the street,

And meeting a friendly guy, perchance

Who would sweep her off her feet.

While he had suffered temptations too

At the taverns along the way,

The sparkling eyes of the barmaids there

When the ship put in for a stay.

 

But now he trudged in the driving rain

At that terrible time of night,

When shadows loomed to increase the gloom

That he felt, with never a light.

He’d struck a match when he’d read the note

But it fizzled in record time,

He’d only read when the match went out

The first, not the second line.

 

He felt his way up the garden path

And he paused, then knocked at the door,

His heart was there in his mouth at last

To the tread of a man, for sure.

The door swung open, a man stood there

A quizzical look in his eyes,

‘We didn’t expect you here so late,

But still, what a nice suprise.’

 

The sailor stood, was taken aback,

He hadn’t the words to say,

‘What have you done with Emily,’

His breath was taken away.

‘Your Emily’s moved, she went next door,

I see she’s burning a light,

You’d better get home, you’re living there,

She’s waiting for you tonight.’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Valentine]

You brat...here I was thinking if she didn't have a lover she had a terrible illness or was burned bad or something else terrible. Here the dang match went out before he got to read the whole note. It is a big wonder that he didn't just bob the man in the head before he had a chance to speak. Another gem Mate. Keep them coming. Kathie

[Avinash]

Insecurities and fear have ended so many beautiful relationships. We got to have the patience to seek the truth. It is not everyone's cup of tea. Someone told " God is in details and devils in presumptions".
A very wise write.

[Marie]

Another happy ending. His Emily was true (and I'll bet he wasn't); all she did was move. Probably ready to welcome him home with champagne in ice and herself in a smile...

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

HA - a telling piece that tickles one so, well done.

[R Smith]

haha nice twist David and a happy ending, its a great poem as always may your pen never run dry :)

[Vishuddha]

You have swept me away again and you certainly did not let me down. Your whole poem was "what a nice suprise"! (And, the match trick was so well done.)

[Barbz]

To have catastrophic expectations, just doesn't pay......you'll never know when things will be going your way. I'm all about Happy Endings.......Smiling, I am....Barbz

[A Soap Mess Stories]

another interesting story, DLP...

[MomzillaNC]

Oh! All that impending doom and gloom! Then a sneaky happy ending! Another dude who didn't read all the instructions! Good one! :D