Ice!

She’d walk on out to the balcony

Each day that it didn’t hail,

Braving the bitterly cutting winds

In the search for a distant sail,

I’d wait ‘til she was shivering cold

And her lips were turning blue,

Then drag her in through the open door;

Well, what was I meant to do?

 

She’d cry, of course, as I thawed her out

By the small, pot belly stove,

The only thing that kept us alive

In that tiny, ice-bound cove,

I’d wrap a blanket around the form

That I’d loved since I was three,

While she looked out for the love she’d lost

And I’ll swear, it wasn’t me!

 

He’d gone away on a masted barque

With the winter coming in,

Had kissed her once as he went aboard

And swore he’d be back again,

He waved just once, then he turned his back

As the barque had sailed away,

Hauling on the top gallants as

It headed out from the bay.

 

The three of us had been bosom friends

Until Charles had gone to sea,

But only then had professed his love

For the love of my life, Marie,

I’d been too timid to state my love,

She saw me just as a friend,

I felt that my heart was broken, when

She turned to him in the end.

 

But I lived up on the cliff-top face

With a perfect view of the bay,

I’d see him first when he sailed back home

So she asked if she could stay,

She settled in, and my heart had grieved

As I watched her pale blue eyes,

Skimming the far horizon as

The rain had turned to ice.

 

The skies grew dark and the storms came in

And the sleet had turned to snow,

It covered all of the cliff-tops and

The sand on the cove below,

‘We’re in for a wicked winter,’ I

Remarked, as I chopped the wood,

And she had turned, to give me a smile

To say that she understood.

 

The weeks went by and the storms still came

Til the cove had turned to ice,

The sea froze out in the distant bay

While we passed the time with dice,

‘Isn’t it strange how fate decrees,’ she said

‘How love will lie…

What if it wasn’t Charlie, what

If it was you and I?’

 

The look on my face betrayed me, for

She sat right back and stared,

A tear had caught at my eye, she said,

‘Why didn’t you say you cared?’

‘I couldn’t see how you’d care for me

Though I cherished you as a friend,

I knew you would set your sights on Charles

And leave me in the end.’

 

‘You didn’t give me the choice, you should

Have left it for me to choose,

Now it’s a little too late for us,

What did you have to lose?’

She stomped on out to the balcony

Where the hail came down like rice,

And like a fool, I left her there

Til her tears had turned to ice.

 

I found her frozen, stuck to the rail

Where she stood and stared to sea,

I should have taken her in before

And she might have come to me,

But still she stands with her frozen hands

As a barque sails into the bay,

And Charles will see that she came to me;

What am I going to say?

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[BlackRose]

Excellent story of love with this having tragedy in the end. Never wait to tell someone you love them, it can be too late if you lose the chance while some else has taken it. And if you love someone that much you'll wait forever maybe til they come back. Fab read as always.

[Claire in VA]

Amazing tale! I love it.
You deserve the World's #1 Metrist Trophy
for this and all of your other fine works!
Claire

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

The true story of all love, leaves on exhausted and pleased, well done, good read.

[Avinash]

Magical mix of love and tragedy and has all element of reality. Like rain we don't know on whom women will shower their love. But sometimes we are not left with any choice but to love even if that means no hope for reciprocation. Lucky are those who get their feelings reciprocated, even if it doesn't you did not deny yourself a chance to love someone.

[TPK Stories]

Wow! Such a tragic ending. Great story.

[Marie]

I don't understand why he'd just let her stand out there and freeze. And a matter of fact, I can't why she'd do it to herself.I'm ready for a blanket when the temperature drops below 75.

[Tate Morgan]

Great story And a lesson to be learned. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

[Lyn Anderson]

Another great story poem. This is a smart one.

[Brittany Zedalis]

I adore how your poetry always tells a story. Truly remarkable work.

[Delmar Cooper]

David, I just finished reading "Ice" and wanted to thank you for sharing this poem. I don't think it is perfect in every respect, but it is a delight to read. Robert Service would be proud of you.