The Room in the Albert Mall

The Albert Mall was a narrow street

Named after the dying prince,

Where Queen Victoria donned the rags

Of a widow, ever since.

She’d sat outside in her royal Coach

And been heard to mutter, ‘Why?’

While Albert did what he had to do,

What he had to do was die!

And we came by when the Queen was dead

When the Mall was quite forgot,

To rent a room where the prince had died

If we’d known, we’d rather not.

The Mall was grubby and cheap by then

So we thought we’d make it do,

I asked Marie if she didn’t mind

And she said, ‘It’s up to you.’

It seems the room had been empty then

By the choking layers of dust,

I said, ‘Shall I let it blow outside?’

And Marie said, ‘If you must.’

It took us days just to clear the air

And to have a look around,

In some of the ancient furniture

You can imagine what we found.

The robe held some of the smartest clothes

I think, that we’d ever seen,

I said as much to Marie, ‘that dress

You’d swear, was fit for a queen,

And there, a suit for a gentleman

With a full blown grey Top Hat,

I said to Marie, ‘Shall we try them on,’

And she said, ‘Let’s do just that.’

So then on the eve of Michaelmas

We stood by the mirror there,

Arrayed in the best of formal gear

They called Victorian wear,

And music drifted up through the floor

From the ballroom down below,

While I, in a moment of madness

Blurted out, ‘Well, shall we go?’

We made our way to the music by

Descending a curving stair,

And finding a throng of dancers who

Were dressed the way we were,

Then someone called out ‘Her Majesty,’

And the music stayed and died,

While they all stared at Marie and bowed,

Made me feel queer inside.

I swear that they only saw the clothes,

They didn’t see us two,

And they were a shade ephemeral,

I could see right through them, too,

They went right back to their dancing

While we sat on an ottoman,

Whispering what were our chances if

We just got up, and ran.

But then they gradually faded, and

The music died away,

And we were left in an empty room

Before the light of day,

The clothes went back in the dusty robe

And we found another flat,

For just one night we were Prince and Queen

And we’re both in awe of that.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Collette Edwards]

Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem. You have a talent with words as you paint a picture as you write. I felt like I was right their watching the whole thing. You have a talent that should be shared with everyone. I would be happy to have just a pinch of your ability to write. Keep writing and keep sharing I am becoming a fan of yours and will be looking for anything you write.

[R Smith]

Lovely and brilliant, it has a mixture of Cinderella with One Step Beyond lol, I guess that's just what I see in this wonderful tale of ghosts and love, great work as always David :)

[A Soap Mess Stories]

The pictures you paint with your words...another great read David.

[Relic]

Just like a twilight episode David. For just a short time they traveled back to a long bygone era. It must have felt good to get back. haha Excellent poem my friend.

[emmajoy]

Yet another great poem, more superb meter, plus - as always, a wonderful story layered for readers' enjoyment! You somehow manage to include modern dialogue in historic settings and not a comment jars s This is yet another example of your weathered eye and inherent skill right up to, ..' But then they gradually faded, and .. The music died away, .. and we were left in an empty room .. Before the light of day,.. '.. .. Wonderful 'stuff.'!

[Breanna Riddle]

You did it again! Another amazing piece that you have added to your collection! I loved it ! the best part was when they met the people and realized that they were ghosts. The way you built up the story and the scene you created with those very descriptive words was magnificent! thank you so much for sharing!

[Einstein Noodle]

big smile across my face .. wonderful read for me!! had me hooked and guessing the outcome the whole way through ... i and my wonderful Norma are fond of staying in haunted hotels, B&Bs etc. so i found this one tantalizing and great fun to read .. another good one says i!
E.

[Celie Rose]

I really liked your poem. A room filled with ghosts. "music drifted up through the floor. From the ballroom down below, they gradually faded, and
The music died away, For just one night we were Prince and Queen. The theme, description and plot were very was good. What an amazing experience!

[Barbz]

Curiosity over the once majestic mall led to disappointment as it had obviously been neglected since the death of the royals.
The dust of neglect was choking and took days to blow it out, but the discovery of the formal wear in the wardrobe put a fairytale like spin on this rhymed narrative. Was it the dust in royal garb that danced at thr Michaelmas Celebration! The dust faded as did the music, but the memory lingered on. quite an adventure for the guests, D L. Paget. Barbz