The Christmas Gift

‘It won’t be much of a Christmas,’

I said to his woman, Kate,

As she met me in the garden,

And opened the garden gate,

I asked how well he was faring

And she answered, ‘Not too well,’

Her eyes were blackened for lack of sleep

She looked like she’d been through hell.

While George lay out on a camper

Trying to get some air,

His lungs were riddled with cancer,

He said that he didn’t care.

‘I’ve had enough of this rotten life

It threw me a sucker punch,

I’ll just be glad when it’s over, mate,

Just think of me out to lunch.’

I couldn’t say he’d get over it,

He’d catch me out in a lie,

The one thing both of us knew right then

Was George was about to die,

They’d given him just a week or so

Till his organs began to fail,

He might just make it to Christmas, but

That was the end of the tale.

But Kate was doing just what she could

To comfort his final days,

She’d come across to his neighbourhood,

When Kate decides, she stays,

They hadn’t ever been love’s young dream

Had parted the year before,

For George was always intolerable

Living with him was war.

And I would try to avert my eyes,

Whenever Kate was around,

I didn’t want her to see me blush

So kept my eyes to the ground,

If only I had got to her first

I’d say to my mirror glass,

But far too late, she was with my mate,

He was way beneath her class.

And even though they had parted,

I couldn’t begin to tell,

My feelings, how they were started

By being within her spell,

For she’d always been his woman, 

Been his lover and his mate,

And even now they were parted,

I thought it a little late.

But he called me into the garden

To sit by his camper bed,

And said that he begged my pardon,

He knew he would soon be dead.

‘But I have a gift to give you,

It might be a little late,

But at Christmas time I wish you

Would take care of my darling Kate.’

‘I know that you care about her,

For I’ve seen you blushing and stare,

It’s a year I’ve been without her,

Due to my lack of care,

But I think she’ll come to love you,

You can ask yourself instead,’

For Kate was there in the garden,

And stood there, nodding her head.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[A Soap Mess Stories]

A beautiful love story. Wonderful read.

[Miss Sharon]

I am SO totally in awe of this write! What a beautiful story. Love the way you coddle those words! ~Sharon

[D Connolly]

Oh wow, how nice this is! I love your stories so much

[Coyote Poetry]

I liked the feel of real life in the story in the poetry. I liked the honest tone leading to a positive ending. Love can grow. Some gardens need more love and concern to prosper. Thank you my friend for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Valentine]

Kind of an inspiring write telling those left behind to continue on with their lives, follow that dream. Not finding that so easy to do myself. The nodding of her head might mean she had been having the same thought. Valentine

[kclyaine]

Well it ended up good for everyone except the other guy who's dying.

I like how you able to rhyme everything. It really has good flow and very easy to read.