The Landau

The Landau

A Poem by David Lewis Paget

The winter fogs roll in from the Thames

While frost forms up on the eaves,

The damp will settle in aching bones,

While the trees are bereft of leaves;

The streets were stark in the old East End

A footfall echoed and died,

And nights when the homes were shuttered in

They listened to wheels outside.

 

A Landau, black as the devil’s sin

And drawn by a single horse,

Rolled slowly up to The Black Dog Inn

By the side of the watercourse,

When out there came from the bawdy house

In black from her head to tail,

A dollymop with a nosegay,

Wearing a bonnet, black, with a veil.

 

She’d climb up into the Landau while

The coachman, clad in a cloak,

Would give one flick with the reins,

And pull on the bit ‘til the horse had choked,

He’d take them off with a clatter

Wheels a-rattle on cobblestones,

His eyes agleam like a demon

While he whipped the horse to the bone.

 

The horse’s hooves on the cobbles

Warned ahead through the fog and mist,

As people cowered in doorways

Shouted a curse as the Landau passed,

They followed the glow of the gaslamps

Shedding their weak and feeble light,

And raced by the mighty river

Into the dark of the endless night.

 

They came to a halt at Wapping

Down where the river cast its spawn,

The bodies of dead and drowned who’d

Cursed their mothers for being born,

And hung on poles at the river’s edge

Was another terrible sight,

The bodies of sailor mutineers

That swung in their chains at night.

 

Hung on the Tyburn gallows

Then cut down and shackled again,

The bodies were coated with tallow

For a post mortem hanging in chain,

They’d bind them up with a winding cloth

Then coat them again in tar,

Hang them in chains at the riverside

‘Til their dust blew near and far.

 

The woman climbed out of the Landau

Took one look, and fell to her knees,

Her lover hung gently swaying,

Swaying in time to the river breeze,

His eyes stared out from the candle wax

And his mouth was shaped in an ‘Oh!’

He seemed to be saying, ‘Goodbye, my love;

What a terrible way to go!’

 

She wept like a woman demented,

Seized his legs, and pulled to her breast,

Clung to his swinging figure

Moaned like a creature, quite obsessed,

She tried transferring her warmth to him

But his cold was the cold of death,

And his eyes stared straight ahead of him

No thoughts, no love, no breath!

 

She climbed back into the Landau

As the coachman whipped it away,

And often at night they hear it go,

Those folks down Wapping way,

They say it spattered a stream of blood

On the road as it raced on by,

From the dollymop who’d slashed her throat

And lay in the coach to die.

 

And when there’s a mighty river fog

In the winter, down by the Thames,

They sit in the Inn they call Black Dog

And they drink to the health of friends,

They drink to the ones who’ve gone before

As they hear the wheels outside,

And hold their breath at the emptiness

As the door is opened wide!

 

David Lewis Paget

© 2012 David Lewis Paget


My Review

Would you like to review this Poem?
Login | Register




Featured Review

Dave this one is the best .I loved it The wording the cadence it sings like the sorrow it entails.What a tale! This is another in line with the carousel and Lightning Jack it is the type of story i have come to expect and herald as only from you.I could read anything of yours and immediately know it was from you.But this is at the top with the previously mentioned and the great eastern . Absolute immortality will be yours with the likes of this congratulations ten stars and a snap for this!!! I will send immediately out to all.

Posted 11 Years Ago


3 of 3 people found this review constructive.




Reviews

Thanks to Tate Morgan for turning me on!
~Blessings

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

This is by far the best Black poem
I've happened upon,
here at Writer's Cafe
that's all I have to say~
~lovely♥lady~

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

This is an incredible piece, that's all I can say, just incredible. 100/100

Posted 11 Years Ago


2 of 2 people found this review constructive.

Magnificent piece. Having such great ability to turn words into a visual mind grasping adventure is always expected from you. I'm truly glad I was referred to this site and to have been introduced to you. Tate and yourself are great guys and have incredible talent I enjoy being a witness to.

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

I agree with Tate..stunning storytelling and perfect rhyme and rhythm Brilliantly conceived poem of the highest order

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

wow so beautiful ....i love it ....well done

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Wow this is really good! Tate Morgan suggested that I give it a read, and I'm glad I did!
I have to admit, I had to look up some of the terms and phrases used, to fully understand it...but you definitely painted a great-gruesome-sad picture here, loved it!

100/100

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

[send message][befriend] Subscribe
Mic
The imagery this one beckons is surreal. The sailors, streets, river...

Love the last stanza. This is as good as it gets. Thank you Mr. Paget!

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

I had to look up what a Landau was, it's a very unusual word in English as we dont like vowels on the end, I think Landau is also a place. This is such an atmospheric piece and stinks of Old England, I love the reference to the 'Black Dog' thats just great, as it reminds me of the classic Led Zep song. Another marvellous piece, just great

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

i don't dare

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.


Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Request Read Request
Add to Library My Library
Subscribe Subscribe


Stats

3020 Views
51 Reviews
Rating
Shelved in 9 Libraries
Added on October 21, 2012
Last Updated on October 22, 2012
Tags: dollymop, sailor, Tyburn, chains

Author

David Lewis Paget
David Lewis Paget

Moonta, South Australia, Australia



About
more..

Writing

Related Writing

People who liked this story also liked..


Peaches Peaches

A Poem by Tate Morgan





Advertise Here
Want to advertise here? Get started for as little as $5