Lost Moment

I’d only been gone for a moment,

A moment was all that it took,

And up to the edge of that moment

I’d been sitting, and reading a book,

Then I looked up and saw you were staring,

But your eyes were glazed over, I see,

And I swear you weren’t looking, but glaring

At something you hated in me.

Then the room began twisting and turning

To the sound of the storm’s rapid roar,

As it went racing up to the ceiling,

And dived in a twirl to the floor,

It snatched at the book I’d been reading

And it flung it straight up in the air,

On the cover it said ‘Time is Bleeding’,

And I thought, ‘I don’t want to go there.’

Still you clung to your chair, my Miranda,

While the furniture skittered and slid,

Some had headed out to the veranda

Where the glockenspiel lay on its lid,

But your face and your skin became older,

As the years yet to come hurried by,

And the air in the room became colder

When I heard, ‘You’re much younger than I.’

And that’s when I felt it receding,

That eddying moment of time,

That had shown me the love that was bleeding

It hadn’t been yours, it was mine,

I sheltered there on the veranda

From the clinical glance of your gaze,

For time was against you, Miranda,

And it showed, in a myriad ways.

I’d only been gone for a moment,

A moment was all that it took,

And up to the edge of that moment

I’d been sitting, and reading a book,

Then the storm battered in through the shutters,

And it snatched at the book in my hand,

But you’d gone, slipped away down the gutters

With all I had loved in the land.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[emmajoy]

Seems one can be so lost in words written, it's too easy to be lost to the spoken word.. and that's when Miranda and all other names disappear, fade away, never to be seen again. Tis amazing how distracting books can be they can take you prisoner, remove you from reality and.. then water.. loneliness perhaps?! !

As always your meter and the flow of your tale is second to none, David!

[Coyote Poetry]

A powerful tale in the poem. I wanted to read and know more.
"But you’d gone, slipped away down the gutters
With all I had loved in the land."
The above lines were my favorite. Left the reader with something to think about. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry my friend.
Coyote

[M. L. F.]

Hmmmm... This one is tricky and dark. A lot of metaphorical things happening here between you and your lost Miranda. Love the imagery of the storm though. I could see it in my mind as I read. As always, your poetry told a tale, which I love.

[PhoenixDown]

What a dark, but beautiful tale.
Marvelous combination of words. I feel lighter after reading this.
This goes beyond painting a picture. I can smell the oil from this canvas.
Really beautiful piece Paget, even considering the subject-matter.