The Satan Doll

A Poem by David Lewis Paget

They'd just moved into a country house

A mile from the hard top road,

The year had passed in a whirl, and gone,

It was winter, bitter and cold,

The trees were gaunt in the greying light,

The sky was overcast,

Her husband sat with their new-born son,

Not the first time, nor the last.

While Katie cooked at the ancient stove

Her brother-in-law was there,

Drilling a hole through the inner wall,

Just trying to do his share,

When over the sound of the drill, there came

The sound of a surly shout:

'Just why did you belt your kiddie up,

You knocked his teeth right out!'

By the kitchen table, Joe stood up

And he put the baby down,

He'd never seen either of these before,

Two men from the nearby town,

They looked like trouble, and trouble they were

From their glazed eyes to their boots,

With the whiskey ripe on their surly breath

And a week old stubble to suit!

The brother-in-law was Jim, he sat

On the floor, his drill in hand,

He hadn't heard the commotion,

Sat and hummed to a country band,

When one of the men walked over

Kicked him fair in the back, to shout:

'You'd better just listen to what I say

Or I'll drill your heart right out!'

Joe turned to go to his brother's aid,

But the other went for a knife,

Katie got to it first, and skittled it

Out of the way of strife!

But then the scene to Katie seemed

To go so terribly slow,

As the man reached into his pocket, then,

Was pointing a gun at Joe!

'Bang!' The sound of that bullet rang,

And echoed to where she stood!

'Bang!' He fired again, and Joe

Collapsed in a stream of blood,

The man had held the Beretta out,

And fired two shots of lead,

At point blank range, he'd aimed and fired,

Hit Joe, twice in the head!

Katie snatched up the baby, ran

And dropped the child on the bed,

Ran outside and was screaming there

For help from a mile ahead!

She heard three shots, or maybe four,

Then dropped, and fell to her knees,

As Joe came staggering out and fled

Straight past her, into the trees!

One of the men came running out,

The gun, he aimed at her,

'You'd better come in and help,' he said,

'I'm shot, and so's Jake Kerr!'

He led her into the kitchen where

The man lay dead on the floor,

Then made her drag the body out,

Help lift it into their car.

The Police came down and arrested Jim,

He'd fought the man with the gun,

Turned the weapon around and fired,

Then shot the other one.

They said: 'It looks like self-defence,

But we'll lock him away for this,

The judge will work out the rights and wrongs

Of the case - Don't worry, Miss!'

Then Joe went off in the ambulance,

The sirens wailed that night,

Katie sat in a trance, she held

The baby, cried in fright!

She couldn't believe the things she'd seen,

She'd thought that Joe was dead,

The doctor came with the news that night;

'Your Joe has a concrete head!'

But tongues had wagged in the nearby town,

They looked for the cause of things,

'As sure as shooting, that Baby Doll

Was having it off with him!'

'It stands to reason', they muttered low,

'A woman's always at fault';

And that's when Katie had heard it first,

They called her the Satan Doll!

They left the house and they thought to take

Refuge, at his mother's place,

The mother stood at the porch, and glared,

A sour look on her face.

'My boys are welcome, and that's a fact,

And the baby, come right in,

But I won't have your Satan Doll in here...

She's one of the devil's kin!'

The Judge threw out the case from court,

The dead guy was a cop,

'There isn't enough in evidence',

He said, 'so the case I'll drop!'

But Katie still doesn't sleep at night

And she screams like a tortured soul,

She's never once strayed on Joe, but she's

Still known as the Satan Doll!'

David Lewis Paget

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Reviews

Norma J. Jessee

You David, are a master of our darkest dreams.
You inspire both chills and serious thought.
You provide terrific entertainment that deals seriously with some of the deepest themes of human existence: the nature of evil, the grip of fate and the power of love.

In this tale you have shown how a terrible tragic event that shouldn't have happened to a young family turned their lives upside down, leaving them to deal with nightmares of the horror for the rest of their lives. You have also shown how justice sometimes isn't served rightfully because of the influence of the perpetrator.
And how (wagging tongues) can cost an innocent person not only their reputation, and dignity among other things but sometimes their lives. People should always think before they speak especially when they don't know the truth or facts of the situation. They should also remember they could be in this person's place, Anything can happen to anyone, at any point in our lives without a moments notice.
Not a single person on the face of this earth has full control of the events of their lives. It's like when we are driving on the highway, we may be the safest driver we can be. But we don't know what the other drivers on that road will do at any moment. I've seen signs that warn " Watch out for the other driver"