The Day that Time would Stop!

The passageway was longer than he thought

He would have said,

It seemed to go forever,

But the words stayed in his head.

That drumming in his ears was surely

Just the lack of sound,

And could it be, he floated,

With his feet just off the ground?

 

The ambulance had called for him at just

On half past three,

He’d told his wife: ‘Don’t bother,

It will go away, you’ll see!’

His wife was more determined than she’d

Ever been before,

She dialled up on her mobile

And she waved him, at the door.

 

‘It’s all just fuss and bother, this,’ he thought,

And flushed quite red,

The fellow in the ambulance

Looked grim, and shook his head.

He tried to give him oxygen, then

Called out to his mate:

‘You’d better put your foot down,

Or we might be there too late!’

 

He felt the lurch of speed, and heard the

Sirens start to wail,

He only felt embarrassment,

‘Such fuss! Beyond the pale!’

But then the light had faded in the

Middle of the day,

And that was when he found himself

Deep in that passageway!

 

The light became much brighter, at the end

He saw a door,

It slowly started opening,

He couldn’t see much more,

But then he floated through it, standing

Stark within this room

Filled wall to wall with flowers that

Had just begun to bloom!

 

He stood there for a moment, he could not

Believe his eyes,

A crowd of happy people jumped

On out, and yelled: ‘Surprise!’

Then streamers and balloons appeared

And tangled round his feet,

He stared at them in wonder as

His heart had ceased to beat!

 

His father stood there grinning, he had died

Before his time

While his mother wiped a tear away,

She’d left when he was nine,

And all the aunts and uncles from

His distant memories,

Now stood and charged a glass to him,

And smiled, and shouted: ‘Cheers!’

 

‘He doesn’t know what’s happened, give him time,’

Said Uncle Ron,

‘We’re just so glad to see you - My!

The weight that you’ve put on!

You must have seen it coming, all

That pain before you drop;

It’s common to us all, you know,

The Day that Time would Stop!’

 

He paused to think about his wife, and

Wondered if she cried,

Or simply shrugged her shoulders when

She heard that he had died,

The heart that he no longer had

He knew would never mend;

He stood erect and dignified -

A funeral to attend!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Dayran]

You seem to find yourself in the strangest places, David, this time on the other side. But I recall a fateful day when I came inches close to a truck that sped by at about 60 kph. I was young and it shook me to the roots and held me in a vice for the next few days, until I read something similar to your piece here and felt it lift the somber in my mood.

I don't know how much comfort that is to the recently deceased in your account. I hate to think how he might be born again that way and one day rush back to the wife with the mobile with an excuse that might sound like ' Sorry honey, the hospital took longer than I had thought.'

[Lumière Dé..]

Sad and optimistic at the same time.

[Marie]

What a great poem of meeting death. Such a happy feeling when he meets the people he lost. I don't believe death is like this, but I almost with it was.

[Harmony Babin]

Very well written, I enjoyed reading this one (:

[poeticpiers]

You paint a hopeful picture David. People are dying to know what happens after death. You skillfully compose a story which may bring comfort to the bereaved

[Katrina Mckeown]

wonderfully portrayed excellently penned. thank-you for sharing. )

[Penlady]

Oh, MY! Just enough emotion and life in all the descriptive phrases to point to the chosen conclusion. The ending leading to that place of beauty so promised and hoped for. Bravo!

[Muse]

The stories you hear of near death experiences, are very much like this. The happiness and love is so overwhelming...it outweighs the love we leave behind on earth. The story...the rhyming...not only is it done with a crisp technical precision...it is beautiful, and brilliant.

Muse

[Leigh]

I like the way you have told this with a slow turning twist throughout and let the story unfold. It takes some doing to put all that inside a well written poem like this. Sterling stuff as usual, you have told another great story, I love reading your poems.