Death's Call

We often wake up when it's too late...

 

I heard my friend died yesterday,

It knocked me off my feet,

I'd passed the time of day with him

Last Wednesday, on the street,

He'd caught me at an awkward time,

I strained to get away,

He had some awful flu, or cold,

I didn't want to stay.

 

He phoned me later, chatted on,

I looked up at the sky,

I'm always so impatient with

This one annoying guy,

His jokes were inappropriate,

He laughed at them himself,

When wit was handed out, they left

His sitting on the shelf.

 

He wrote a bit, of prose and verse,

It wasn't up to scratch,

I'd see him coming up the drive

And flick across the latch,

He'd want me to critique them

And I'd hate to lay him low,

By telling him his talent was

Not up to 'so and so'.

 

He seemed to think that I was

Someone special in his life,

And tried to join the family

By chatting up my wife,

He really thought I didn't know

But still I kept my peace,

I didn't tell his wife on him,

Or tear him off a piece.

 

The one thing I will say is that

He always had a smile,

Whenever he caught up with me,

With notepad, book or file,

I've never known one try so hard

For friendship, in despair,

And in return, I'd tell the wife

'Just keep him out my hair!'

 

But now he's dead, so suddenly,

It's time that I took stock,

The friendship was all his, you see,

And all I did was block.

The fault was not in him, I see,

But in my tardy soul,

For he deserved much more than me,

And now, I'm feeling old.

 

I wasted all the chances that

He offered me, for free,

To just enjoy a simple soul,

One who looked up to me.

I'm going to miss that little man

And pray his soul to keep,

For now I'd welcome anyone

To talk to, in the street!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Norma J. Jessee]

It seems so sad that we only realize our mistakes when it
far to late to do anything about them. We as human beings
seem to take things for granted far too often overlooking
the things in life that really count, the important things, and placing
our time and efforts into things that in the end mean nothing.

You failed to say whether this was based on a real experience or
not, but either way you made an excellent point. My mother used to
use a phrase everytime she was upset with us, " You never miss the water
till the well's gone dry, You never miss your mother , till she says good-bye."
Although I believe she used this as a way of making us feel ashamed for
our actions, it still hold true, that we somehow feel that life will always
remain the same, that people will always be there and that we have all the
time in the world to make things right . But sad to say we don't. Things are
always changing, and people die. None of us knows what tomorrow might
bring. I guess what I am trying to say is that as the adage " Take time to smell
the rose's" says. That we should take time to cultivate our friendships and
get to know people for what they really are. Perhaps if we took the time to
really get to know the person inside, we might just like what we see. And we might
enjoy life just a little better.

As always impecable writing David. You are absolutely the greatest writer.

[Victoria Harlequin]

This is very sad and touching.
We push people away everyday, and sadly that does happen (what is said in the poem).
Great write!

[raining]

H*ave you thought about putting your poems into a booK? raining

[raining]

Its the style, as well as the subjects you use that I appreciate. The story quality... compels the reader to stay in the poem. The narrator finds something out about himself, the daily flow of things, as well as his attitudes about people have been challenged. He has a sea change... well done. from raining

[Aspiring Angel]

This one so touching for it reminds me a great deal of a friend I had myself that is now gone. Great write and your ending lines hit me like a ton of bricks.

Hugs,
Lesa

[Jenna]

I had a teacher this year that died that was like a dad to me, because me my dad wasn't much like a dad. But this is very intriguing and haunting and sad. Cheers

[Bexers]

I had a friend die of a heroin overdose. I heard the sirens go to his house, cos I lived down the street from him. I couldn't sleep that night, it was a very surreal experience.


- - -
I really enjoyed what I read. It was very well written and put together nicely.

Good job!