The Blank Page

This page is white as a white can be

Til I lift my pen and trace

A scrawl of black from an inky sac,

A tale of the human race.

I pick and choose, who wins, who lose

Their brief duet with fate,

Who twist and turn as they live and learn

To dance at my garden gate.

 

I paint in the cliffs and the sky above,

The shingle, down on the shore,

A tiny cottage that’s full of love

With a garden of herbs, and more,

A man who walks on the winding path,

He’s a difficult man to gauge,

Will he be happy, or sad, or what

When I get to the end of the page?

 

I’ll call him Clive, for he’s so alive

When he gets to the cottage gate,

His eyes are bright in the fading light

As he looks for his darling, Kate.

She hears the creak of the hinges greet

The one who captured her heart,

And races out through the cottage door,

Who am I, to keep them apart?

 

But the world is cruel and there’s always gruel

To add to a perfect tale,

I should be telling this up at the pub,

Over a pint of ale.

But I’d have to muddy my story up

To make my listeners tense,

And what does it take but a big brown snake

To add to the tale’s suspense.

 

The snake came slithering out of the herbs

And reared its head up high,

I could be mean with the following scene

As the snake bites Kate in the thigh.

But I’m only here to fill the page

Not to lay a bloody trail,

So Clive, alive to the danger leaps

To seize the snake by the tail.

 

Our hero takes the snake by the tail

And cracks it like a whip,

Shatters its spinal cord and so,

That was the end of it.

There’s a smiling face and a swift embrace

And a tale untold, for sure,

When Clive and Kate shut the creaky gate

And enter the cottage door.

 

I only wanted to tell a tale

To banish this page of white,

The page that mocks like a sly old fox

When I stare at it each night.

So take the story of Clive and Kate

Who live on top of the cliff,

And dream sweet dreams if your own life seems

Too bland, and think, ‘What if?’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[R Smith]

What if? indeed David, as you say when the hand rises and the pen descends its a world of opportunity and chance, what may come from such action as the moving pen we do not know until perhaps the end and in this instance i doubt there's anyone better than you for finding the answers, bravo :)

[Marie]

Well, this is a good story. I'm glad the snake did not bite Kate in the thigh, and that Clive was alert to the danger. If you want to add more excitement, think of the snake's mate coming out to seek revenge, slithering into the house on the cliff...

"The snake came slithering out of the herbs

And reared it’s head up high," ???

[Barbz]

My only regret is that I do not slowly savor every word, for I am always in a great deal of anticipation as to where you are taking us......but the best part is....I read it over and over...and I Marvel!! You continue to take us to places otherwise unknown, and urge us to contemplate "What if". Barbz

[emmajoy]

There's more than fine poetry here, David - there's a how to 'fill.a.page' philosophy and turn it on its tail to show how creating poetry is for DLP. Which comes first, I wonder - the space where an idea hasn't yet reached OR the larval thought creeping nearer. Isn't there a gulp between the two.. or is it as quick as you make it appear!! As always you make words dance and give a Spring.like cavort with Clive's gallantry towards his love. As the to the 'What if?' well, 'How is!'

[Valentine]

David, I really like this as you lay out on paper for all to see just how a writer looks at the blank page and tries to make that page come alive for them. I really loved the creativity in this one. Suburb write. Valentine

[ANTO]

This is like a wonderful 'How-to..' guide David - a peek behind the curtain eh? A glimpse of the master at his workbench creating the polished gems from the rough stones.

"To seize the snake by the t-a-l-e..." - had me for a second going - uh-oh - surely not a (whispers)"a typo" but as soon as the thought had rose so it fell. You toy with us. lol
I love the way you play with the reader as well as the words - just masterful DLP. Stupendous !
:)