Obsession

I’d seen the widow walk back and forth

The length of the village street,

Her veil so black and her dress so long

You’d see neither face nor feet,

She never would speak to anyone

But would simply seem to glide

Within the folds of that mourning dress

Like a slowly ebbing tide.

At first she’d walk at the early dawn

But then she’d be gone by noon,

The light of day would spirit away

Her wandering sense of gloom,

She’d not be seen till the sun went down

When you’d hear the swish of lace,

Catching along the sea wall stone

And whipping around her face.

She never would miss the evening tide

That would bring the fleet back in,

Check every boat that was still afloat

If its catch was full, or thin,

Her only love had gone out one day

With his sails set high to roam,

His boat had floated out in the bay

But he had not come home.

It took a week for the widows weeds

To start to march on the shore,

And no-one dared to look in her face

So deep was the grief she wore,

‘I never knew pain like this exists,’

She’d cry, when she was alone,

But over the next few painful weeks

She knew that he’d not be home.

Then she slowly tore off the widow’s veil,

She gave up the mourning dress,

I watched her enter the world again

Just as beautiful, no less.

It took me months but I won her round,

I’d kept my scheme afloat,

By hiding away the tools I’d used

To sink her husband’s boat.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Edis Radoncic]

I really liked the twist at the ending! Great job. And if I can make one suggestion i am not an expert but I think you should put quotations in the title of your poem since it is lengthy. I heard it is a rule in poetry when you write a long poem it is required to put it. I am sure you already knew but since this is a website it is much more candid haha.

[Sarah Wolfe]

This is marvelous! The imagery is incredibly vivid and I love the twist at the end.

[R Smith]

oh David! what a wicked twist in the tail, does he really get away with murder to win her heart, you prove that your way beyond our best guesses, just never saw that coming, great writing my friend :)

[Celie Rose]

You really caught me off guard with those last 3 lines. "I’d kept my scheme afloat,
By hiding away the tools I’d used
To sink her husband’s boat."
Now that's obsession. He killed her husband! You shocked me! I really enjoyed this one. There is an eeriness about your writing, I really like it! Well written

[ThePoetDarkling]

BOOM! It's not a David Lewis Paget poem if someone doesn't die in the end! Perfect build up of suspense, as usual - I'm glad the "Black Dog" hasn't bitten you too deeply ...

[Valentine]

Well, I just was seeing some of myself in her and then.....the ending about blew my socks away. Really sneaky, I did not expect that, I thought you might have her going out in a boat by herself and never coming back. A great piece, one fo my favorites. Valentine

[Barbz]

Oh, the compassion I felt for the grieving widow in her mourning dress, seen only in the early dawn and the evening tide, dealing with the loss of her love, lost at sea. Of course, you never seem to fail your readers with your twists of shock and awe. I, of course should have expected that, having a library of your magical works......Barbz

[Chirag Kumar]

Wow.! What a dramatic twist at the end. Excellent David :D