Two Brothers

They’d built too close to the cliffside edge

And the winters grew so cold,

The ocean seemed to be rising with

The waves, as in they rolled,

They tore away the base of the cliff

And swept it out to sea,

The house was poised on the cliffside edge

And would soon be history.

Two brothers lived in the fated house

That had once comprised of three,

For one of the brothers had a wife

Who was called Penelope,

But something funny was going on

The folks around there said,

For Penny was always seen with John

But had been the wife of Fred.

They both had courted the girl before

And each had bought a ring,

Then asked Penelope could she choose

Between them, there’s the thing,

She told the brothers she loved them both,

The choice was hard, she said,

‘A half of me would marry with John,

But I have to go with Fred.’

The rumours started around the town

That she had the best of two,

She’d sleep for half a week with Fred

And the rest, with you know who.

They’d say that voices were raised in there

It wasn’t going well,

What should have been a heaven on earth

Would seem some kind of hell.

For just on a year she went to town

And shopped just like the rest,

She smiled that bright Penelope smile

Was always nicely dressed,

But then she stopped, and she wasn’t seen

As the brothers did the shop,

Then they would glower at everything

And they wouldn’t talk, or stop.

But still the sound of their voices raised

Would echo from that house,

Til Fred stopped going around with John,

There was no sign of his spouse,

The storm that came at the midnight hour

Then washed away the cliff,

The house plunged into the water and

The rumours said, ‘What if?’

The house was shattered as in it plunged

Each piece was washed away,

And morning had seen the strangest sight,

A coffin, out in the bay,

The rescue boat had dragged it in

And dumped it up on the shore,

Along with a drenched Penelope

So they wondered, more and more.

They found a body, washed on the beach,

It was hard to recognise,

They asked Penelope could she view them

Once she’d dried her eyes,

They opened the coffin for her first

And in there lay her Fred,

His throat was bloody and torn apart

And Penelope bowed her head.

‘I got so sick of the arguments,

It was like being wed to two,

They raved and ranted most every day

I didn’t know what to do.’

‘You say John murdered his brother then?’

But the police were being kind,

Penelope shook her head, and said,

‘I suddenly changed my mind.’

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good story shared in the poem. Three company went far-north on this relationship. I liked the woman. A perfect ending to the entertaining poem my friend. Thank you David for sharing the amazing poetry.
Coyote

[TPK Stories]

A wonderful mystery to the triangle woven in this story.

[Stacy Purvis]

Oh, ho ho ho. Very clever, indeed.
It seems like I've heard this story before...maybe not exactly this way, but oh, so similar.
Loved it!

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Whoa! Beautifully written and rhymed. Lulls you and then shocks you! Hitchcockian and macabre. Loved it!