The Choice

The house had stood in the forest since

The passing of George the Third,

Ivy clung to the western wall,

The pillars were cracked and scarred,

The windows were bricked and boarded up

From the days of the window tax,

And the name FitzAdam was burnt in sin

In its myriad faults and cracks.

 

The oaks threw shadows in early morn,

The elms threw shadows at noon,

There wasn’t a single sunny wall

To be found ‘til the month of June,

And deep inside in the gloomy halls

Sat the last of the family tree,

Two aging spinsters, Jan and Jane,

And a dead man, that made three!

 

For Henry sat as he’d always sat

Since the day that he’d come to call,

To ask for the hand of Jan or Jane,

And arrange a Wedding Ball,

It was fifty years ago today

That he’d kept them in suspense,

For neither knew what their suitor knew

And the atmosphere was tense!

 

It was just a game to him, they thought,

He was going to have his fun,

He sat at the head of the table, and

He watched their features run,

The anxious looks of the elder girl,

The pleading lips of Jane,

He sat for an hour between them there

And refused to name a name!

 

The fire that glowed in the hearth went out,

Jane left to fetch some coal,

While Jan reached out for a sign from him

And felt that his hand was cold;

His eyes were blank as a morning mist,

His jaw had dropped to his chest,

‘What have you done - was I the one?’

Jane cried, in her distress!

 

But Henry, he was good and dead,

He’d reached his earthly span,

His heart had not proved big enough

To choose between Jane and Jan,

And so he sits with a secret smile

As his flesh returns to sand,

While Jan and Jane, they still complain

As they struggle to hold his hand!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Veronica Chandler]

So skillfully described and colorfully penned I could feel the suspense and smell the trees. Lovely!

[Norma M Sutton]

I like this, creepy with a spirit of fun :)

[Lindsay T]

Wow, this is chilling and beautiful. I love the way you craft each stanza, carefully planned out and creatively written.

[Xyxyshsbbxhx]

Beautiful piece. Continue writing.
Check out my work.
http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/Ajgirl99

[CRAIG A. THOMSON]

A Chilling tale! I loved it. Thankyou

[Marie]

A creepy imaginative poem..

[Lady Creole]

Very clever write.. I read it over and over.

[ba_mcfarlane]

Great stuff, great verve and wit!

[Coyote Poetry]

A amazing story. I had to read twice. Some decision can be very hard. Thank you for sharing the amazing story in the poem.
Coyote

[Ryzo]

fantastic piece of poetry. This is one that will be stuck in my head for a long time. bravo! :)