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.

[Writer *78*]

Life lesson in a poem cant go wrong there very nice piece of work.

[Manpreet]

Vow!!! I had tears in my eyes by the time I reached the end. Somehow it was telling us the known story, made us feel the known pain and giving out a known message. The only difference is that Only David knows how to express these stories so beautifully. Yet another amazing piece from "The David Paget treasure"!!

[ms. barrie]

once again an incredible write, very thought-provoking and as always your words choice and how you use them, is nothing short of being brilliant, your writings never ceases to amazes, you words have a way of holding the reader captive. an amazing write, written with exquisite eloquence, teaching the lessons we should all learn. thanks for sharing :)

[william keepers]

David, this is probably the most moving piece of work I have read so far since joining the Writer's Cafe. I can relate to what you have written so well right down to living in an abandoned house. Ain't it fun living in such a place in the winter with no power, plumbing or potable water while trying to defend your paultry food supply from the mice?
I'm really happy that redemption was found, thanks for sharing this David!

[Tate Morgan]

This is a stellar tale of woe.How many of us can relate to this. Id be remiss to say a few because truth is we all have these demons. Who can say they truly know the heart of another.Quite often the truth is we get what we sow.It is the greatest of christian doctrine that of the man who seeks and gains redemption. Everyone likes this story i bet.As we are all attracted to an underdog made good so are we attracted to salvation. Nice story.

[Valentine]

Da vid.I love this one and it will go to favorites..this so remined me of my own family and past hurts and mistakes..At first when he hit his knees I thought he had found God..but to correct what he had dopne to an innocent child was a blessing..Thank you for sharing this..love to Lyn and you..Oh..Happy Birthday

[David Scott]

I am old enough to have deeds that I wish I could forget. This is a great story of a path to redemption. We must not forget until we have made ammends. This "Wood of Forgotten Deeds" seems like a man's conscience. I can only say that this was worth the read and was a poem you should feel proud to penn your name under! Thank you for this life lesson! A teacher always my friend...

[Enid Blake]

Yes it makes a change to read a happy ending in your poetry David, I think you pulled it off ha ha ;)
'The Wood of Forgotten Deeds' - sounds like a place from which many more stories could unfold...

[Clayton Bardwell]

You're damn lucky for that second chance you scoundrel!

[Marie]

Oh, I was greatly fearing that this would not end happily; that this poor man would be lost in "The Wood of Forgotten Deeds" forever. Instead it gave him a second chance.