The Wood of Forgotten Deeds

I’d been depressed for a year or so

For the way ahead was grim,

Each venture failed left a legacy

That had said, ‘You can’t come in!

No smell of sweet success for you

But the canker of despair,

Don’t hope for wealth or accolades

In your life, they’re just not there.’

 

My wife took off with a businessman

That I once had called a friend,

I hadn’t known what was going on

‘Til she left me, in the end,

The lure of money and trinkets turned

Her face from a dismal past,

And her one delight was to scorn me then

When her love failed, at the last.

 

I often thought that I’d end it then

When my world was black as pitch,

When the future promised more of the same

In some unforgiving ditch,

I wondered why it had chosen me

This fate, with its barren seeds,

But came at last to the truth, I found

The Wood of Forgotten Deeds.

 

I’d travelled far from the paths of men

To nurse my hurts on my own,

Squatted in many a ruined house

And wandered at night, alone,

I came at length to a valley where

No man had laid his hand,

And a wood had covered the valley floor

Since the dawn of time began.

 

Rain had driven me into the wood

To shelter among the trees,

And a mood of some despair had grown

As it forced me to my knees,

My mind lit up with a thousand things

That littered my wayward past,

And every tree cried out to me:

‘Each sin is nailed to your mast!’

 

The things that I was ashamed of

I had pushed them away from me,

Hidden them in my subconscious so

They wouldn’t keep bothering me,

But in this wood was a memory

Of everything mean and grim,

The things I’d tried to forget were there

And forced me to take them in.

 

The petty slights and injustices

That I’d scattered, far and wide,

The friends that I’d turned my back on

When it was just a question of pride,

I’d never thought of the consequence

For them, or who I had hurt,

But blithely left in my ignorance

The ones I’d left in the dirt.

 

And then I came to a vision

That had haunted me, on and off,

A girl that had gone to prison

I could have saved if I’d cared enough,

I’d left her pregnant and wanting there

So she’d stolen food for the child,

The magistrate said, ‘Fifteen months!’

The thing that I’d done was vile.

 

A fit of remorse came over me

And I wept and wailed in the wood,

My fate was suddenly clear to me

I’d only got what I should!

I’d never bothered to see the child

Or see to its tender needs,

But thanked the spirit that came to me

In the Wood of Forgotten Deeds.

 

I travelled back and I found the girl

And I begged for a second chance,

She said she had nothing but hate for me

But we finally found romance,

My life came out of that darker place,

I see to all of their needs,

She’s my Sun, my Moon and Stars, I thank

The Wood of Forgotten Deeds!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Natasha]

This poem definately has raw emotion behind it- so great that you realized all of your so called sins and tried to make a better character for yourself. in the end we are all human, we all make mistakes, we can learn and evolve from them. it's so intimate the things you most have "failed" at in life and creates a huge volnerability--so glad you shared the emotion with us as readers. there is nothing like reading someones pure emotion and such raw feelings- it goes to show us that we can change our present, even change some of our past.

[spiritwind]

Absolutely top-notch, Mr. Paget! I totally agree with David Scott's review. You have painted the story of a man finding redemption and finding himself at long last. THIS is why I read. Thank you!

[Elizabeth]

This is a great poem! I like how the speaker talks about the trials that he has gone through and mistakes that he has made, but in the end, the trial was worth the reward at the end! Also, happy birthday!

[Damien Davison]

What a journey... An absolutely remarkable poem, great job.

[Dr. Wood ?]

wonderful again David..your story telling is unmatched

[Becca Bishop]

This is amazing!!! "The Wood of Forgotten Deeds"....definitely makes you think about the past. Thanks for this! :D

[KAOlmsted]

Truly exceptional write...very raw and full of emotion.

Happy birthday.

-kimmer

[Sarah Ramsbottom]

this is amazing. Honestly a wonderful read. Its core was full of hurt and pain, yet truthful. he finally found the light that he was seeking, the truth of his soul. I loved it!

[quinfinn]

i honestly felt this one to my very core...the pain of loss, the betrayal, the inward and outward struggle and disappointment and the denial and self depracation which ensues after the ultimte lowering of one's station in life. this piece is not only masterfully penned, but has life lessons for every soul who has the good fortune to share your words herein. outstanding write!

[Dayran]

Fear, anxiety and paranoia as the woods, dark and foreboding, a shelter in the rain. Its the yarmulke of the Jew, the songkok of the Malay and of course the many frilled umbrellas of the ladies.

But it says a man chooses the woods because his sin is bigger in his eyes. Such a man must have a bigger heart. Chin up David, that's taking it on the jaw and moving on.

[Paul Okeke]

Learned from this actually.. Great piece