The Shades of Sin

Whenever the wind is blustery

And buffets the chamber door,

I find Elaine, curling in fear

Down on the hallway floor.

She cries, calls suddenly out to me,

‘Do you hear the shades of sin?

I know that it’s got it in for me,

You’re never to let it in.’

‘Never to let what in?’ I say,

‘It’s only the southern wind,

Blowing in turgid sudden gusts,

To rattle the panelling.’

‘It’s ever much more,’ Elaine replied,

‘I’ve seen it up in the trees,

Just like a flight of monster bats

To beat me down to my knees.’

As if in reply, a mighty gust

Blew in the chamber door,

In came a flurry of autumn leaves

That settled, down on the floor.

But with it a cold and clammy darkness

Seemed to enter the room,

An awesome sight in the fading light

It huddled there in the gloom.

It came in the shape of a giant cape,

A hood of enormous size,

And peering out from the hood, no doubt,

A pairing of bloodshot eyes.

I heard a bubbling in its throat

A babble of rasping sounds,

‘It’s time to come for the deed you’ve done,

You’re due in the devil’s grounds.’

Elaine lay whimpering in the hall,

She lay there, hiding her eyes,

‘I didn’t think you would find me out,’

She muttered, to my surprise.

‘What was the awful thing you did,

You never told me before.’

‘I poisoned her drink, then ran and hid,

When she fell down on the floor.’

A bony hand reached out from the cape

And seized Elaine by the throat,

She fought and struggled, tried to escape

Then screamed, in a long, high note.

‘You can’t be late for your nuptials,’

The beast had growled in return,

‘You’ll soon be wed to a demon, who

Will take you to hell, to burn.’

I watched it pull Elaine to her feet,

Then drag her out through the door,

The monster bats were up in the trees,

But she lay dead on the floor.

Whenever I hear the southern wind

Come beat on the door outside,

I think of the times that I have sinned,

And shudder, how Elaine died.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[TPK Stories]

A tragic tale of sin, well told.

[Tony Jordan]

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide - her guilt was well founded and inescapable. Superb imagery DLP. Getting chilly here. Im off to confession.
;)

[Avinash]

Devil never forgets to claim his rewards. Karma comes back in different ways, may be late at times but it sure does.

[Coyote Poetry]

Wow. A breath-taking tale. Paying for deadly sin. Should be the fear of men and women who loved the sin and the gin. This tale made me want to write. Powerful ending to the outstanding tale David in your outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[David Lewis Paget]

Whatever happened to all those friends who used to write reviews. I'm still doing my bit, how about you?