The Landslide

‘There are times and tides in every life,

There are things we never planned,’

The old man said to his grandson there

As he took him by the hand,

‘It may come soon, or it may come late,

It may be the final fall,

But when it does you may find you’re left

With your back against the wall.’

 

The lad stood still on the rocky ledge

He was more than petrified,

For half the cliff had given way

In a sudden, great landslide,

The path that they had travelled on

Had plummeted into the bay,

There was no forward, and no way back

Where they stood on the cliff that day.

 

‘Do you think they’ll come to rescue us,

Do they even know we’re here?’

The lad had cried in the first aside

Of his terror, and his fear,

The old man looked at the darkening light

And the clouds foretold a storm,

‘I think that we’ll be stranded here

All night, till the early morn.’

 

The old man looked where the cliff above

Had an overhanging ridge,

There was no way to clamber up

From their place on the narrow ledge,

And straight below, two hundred feet

Was the churn of an angry sea,

‘I think we’ll have to be more than brave

My boy, just you and me.’

 

The night came on with a swirl of wind

The first from an evening squall,

While they sat down on the narrow ledge

Their backs to the old cliff wall,

The lad was cold and his face was pale

So his grandpa held him tight,

‘Just think of what you can tell your friends

Once back from this dreadful night.’

 

The rain that came was torrential,

They both were soaked to the skin,

He wrapped his coat all around the boy

But he felt him shivering,

‘This brings back memories from the war

I was sat in an LCT,

Waiting for it to come and land

And to set the beaches free.’

 

The lad perked up, said, ‘tell me more,

Did you find yourself afraid?’

‘We knew the odds, we had gone to war

And the mines, they all were laid,

We hit the beach and they dropped the door

I was waist deep in the sea,

Trying to make it into shore

But I lived, and so can we!’

 

The boy was shivering constantly,

He’d die before the morn,

The old man struggled him to his feet,

‘We have to get you warm!

We’re both stood here in our LCT

And we’re brave, our hearts are pumped…’

He turned and smiled at the lad, and then,

Holding hands, they jumped!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Devanshu Rajput]

Another kicker at the end. Do you know wah? I always hide the the last line of your poem, if just in case, my eyes fall there all the mystery and suspense would be ruined! I always wait for the end.

I think Grandpa should have fighted to the last breath. But, I will also say that it was a bold decision. Wait, I am confused. Was he right or not?

I enjoyed reading it.

Devanshu

[A Soap Mess Stories]

I never expected that cliffhanger in the ending. Good story.

[Ellen Hammond]

Talk about a cliff hanger! lol I actually wasn't shocked by the ending probably because I have read a lot of your poems so I know a bit of how your mind works. Another intriguing poem.

[Helen Crutchett]

Brilliant as ever David! I loved the different perspectives from the other reviewers. If they had jumped up and down as ANTO sugguested the rest of the cliff would have crumbled under their feet.

But seriously this was a heartfelt write from your golden pen. Thank you! Enjoyed so much!

Helena

[Sindu]

Oh I was shocked and sad! You wrote it exquisitely, I can hear, feel and see the cliff, ledge, landslide and the storm. But then I stopped and wondered, 'this could not be right, where is the twist?' So I read it again and later the comment by ANTO made me laugh :)

[R Smith]

that was a strong thing to do but with your guiding hand David I bet they made it through, another excellent write as only you can do, clearly you are the master, all credit to you :)

[Marie]

I was deeply shocked by this ending, for I thought they could hold on till morning. But ANTO, bless his heart, gave me hope. They saved their lives by bravely jumping up and down on the spot till help arrived.

[MomzillaNC]

Oh, my… the only thing that could've made this sadder would have been if rescuers had arrived at the moment of their doomed plunge. Brilliant story-telling, as always.

[EdmundLinton]

Wow - "More than courage" ? - Perhaps, trust that grows beyond fear? This a gorgeous expression. Thank you.

[Warren Daniel II]

I'm always very nervous and excited when reading your work, as I always expect the sudden twist of fate at the end of your works. Wow you surely didn't disappoint at all, reading this stirred up lots of emotions within me your style of writing makes reading your work a wonderful experience, thank you for sharing such beautiful poetry with us.

Warren Daniel II