The Blank Page

I’ve kept a journal of sorts for years

And I enter it in ink,

Not with a ball-point biro, it’s

Designed to make me think.

I form the letters with loving care

And I use an italic pen,

And keep it safe on a shelf up where

I can read it, over again.

 

The journal contains my deepest thoughts,

My secrets, hidden away,

Not to be seen by the eyes of men

Till I’m under the earth one day,

For all the wrongs that I didn’t right

And the rights that I failed to do,

Are hidden within its pages in

A sort of italic stew.

 

So when I received a letter from

A woman called Columbine,

Who said after reading my journal

She could never, ever be mine,

She mentioned a certain entry that

Had made up her mind, she said,

But the time and the stamp on the envelope

Was dated a year ahead.

 

I never had heard of a Columbine,

I didn’t know who she was,

But the fact that she’d read my journal

Made me more than a little cross.

I went to the shelf that held my book

To see what I had to thank,

But the page that she had quoted from

Was an empty page, a blank.

 

I went one day to the library

To look for a book of mine,

And the girl behind the counter there

Had a name tag, Columbine.

I looked deep into her stark black eyes

At the fall of her lustrous hair,

At her pouting lips and her fingertips,

And all I could do was stare.

 

She stamped my book and she stared at me

And she saw me staring back,

‘Is there anything else that I can do?’

She said, and called me Jack.

‘How do you know my name?’ I said,

‘Well that’s not super hard!’

And then she handed my book to me,

‘It’s on your library card!’

 

I asked her out for a meal, and then

The rest is history,

We were just engaged when I got to the page

That she’d written about to me.

I raised the pen, and decided then

That I had too much to thank,

Put the cap on my pen, and then

Left all the pages blank.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[RomaJ]

Aww this Is a very delightful poem. Well written, I love the humor. I found it , romantic and sweet.
This line made me smile "She stamped my book and she stared at me
And she saw me staring back,
‘Is there anything else that I can do?’
She said, and called me Jack.
‘How do you know my name?’ I said,
‘Well that’s not super hard!’
And then she handed my book to me,
‘It’s on your library card!’
This has happened to me before:)

[A Soap Mess Stories]

A lovely romantic tale...great story...

[Marie]

You had a warningjust in time. Perhaps it's best not to write your secrets down> Somehow, somewhere, somewhen they may come back to haunt you...

[BlackRose]

What a romantic sort of story. Wonderfully sweet and brings me back (aaah) to my life in some ways. As always, a superb poetic story. Well done my friend.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

A satirical and telling piece that dances in and out, well done, good read.

[Valentine]

This one puts my mind to thinking. He must have returned a library book and somehow had uses that page for a marker. The next person to take the book out was Columbine. Who was the sneaky one here. Perhaps they both won out. Loved it. Kathie

[R Smith]

That's lovely David, its amazing how fate can play its hand but how did she know the page and the page remains still blank, remarkable work again :)

[Devon Michael]

Such a sweet and thoughtful poem, but it smuggles a very large idea in with it, disguised in humor. Reminds me of Shel Silverstein's genius. Original and well crafted, David, bravo!

[Frozen Eyes]

interesting romantic encounter... this reminds me there could always be a story in simplest of events.. thank you for sharing :)

[Barbz]

A very fateful event in the life, of your character, named Jack. He'd write and read his Journal, and then he'd put it back. His secrets, that he scribed in ink, were there just for His eyes, not for anyone to view, until the day he dies. This is where the fate comes in, for how was he to know, a letter dated months from now, would end the journals flow. Very well done, and interesting!! Thank you David for such good reads. Barbz

[MomzillaNC]

I don't know what I expected of the ending, but that was not it. I love your surprise and wise happy ending.