The Witching Days

‘I may be old and decrepit now

And you may think that I’m done,

You laugh at me as I shuffle along

But you don’t know what I won,

You think the world is your oyster now

But you’re only barely a teen,

When I was young, in the witching days

I married a Faery Queen.’

 

‘You laugh and play with your silly phone

And you text, to say you care,

But all those buttons won’t help you breathe

The scent in her fragrant hair,

That phone will never caress her throat

Where the skin is smooth and fine,

Or hold her delicate hands in yours,

But I still remember mine.’

 

‘I found her sat in a faery ring

Where the mushrooms used to sprout,

A tiny circle of magicking

When her father let her out,

I still remember the muslin skirt

That she wore below the knee,

And the chiffon blouse with a tiny broach

And the smile that she had for me.’

 

‘Her lips the colour of cherry wine

Her eyes, deep pools in a glade,

She led me into the bluebell woods

And under the trees, we played,

She let me into her mysteries

When a mist blew in with the breeze,

And gave her lips for a tender kiss

In the way that she used to tease.’

 

‘We tripped together the farmer’s field

And I helped her over the stile,

We hid ourselves in a hedgerow where

The birds had nested awhile,

We stared in awe at a crimson sky

When we woke up late in the hay,

I wed her on a deserted beach

Just after we ran away.’

 

‘So don’t go laughing behind my back,

And don’t go pitying me,

I’ve lived the life, and I’ve loved the wife

I found by the magic tree,

So you, get rid of that mobile phone,

Get out where you can be seen,

She’s still out there with her scented hair

If you want your Faery Queen.’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Tate Morgan]

Oh God dont get me started lol My son and friends live on those damn things.Yet together they dont even talk.Why my son actually text me from upstairs the other day too lazy i suppose to come down and talk .I see his generation unable to carry a conversation.They seem devoid of personality or the ability to tell a tale. Its sad really and i rail against it but to no avail;

[Morgan Storms]

"But all those buttons won’t help you breathe
The scent in her fragrant hair"
I am not a fan of cell phones! :)

[minisla]

Modern technology depriving us of our emotions .. lovely stuff

[TL Boehm]

Her lips the colour of cherry wine
Her eyes, deep pools in a glade,
She led me into the bluebell woods
And under the trees, we played,
She let me into her mysteries
When a mist blew in with the breeze,
And gave her lips for a tender kiss
In the way that she used to tease.’

delightful story. There is a drawback to all the technology....we lose our creativity. Just my opinion.

[Clayton Bardwell]

Oh how I hate the culture of the mobile phone. They cannot possibly know how much of the world they miss with their heads looking down at that bloody screen.

[Lena M. P.]

Love this poem. It flowed so smoothly from stanza to stanza. The imagery delighted me and made me smile. This society doesn't know what they are missing. Socializing, the secret meetings, long walks, frolicking in the water, dancing, bike rides, just sharing. To look in his eyes as he speaks to her, to recognize the nuisances, the getting to know one another deeply. These are all missing in the world of social media, texting, emails, and webcams. Looking at an apple on the computer screen is not the same as reaching up off the back of a horse into an apple tree, plucking the perfect fruit, buffing it on your shirt and then biting into its crisp sweetness. Try texting that my friends.

[Becky C Strukamp]

You have come full circle David, mastering about every topic known to man, creating and delivering haunting, challening, endearing, heart pounding, mystical, and ya da ya da I could go on. Loved it.

[TPK Stories]

I loved this. It had a good message. Live life and don't waste it.

[JR Darewood]

"Sexting" (sending lewd text messages to your significant other) suddenly seems even more ridiculous than before. I was living in a country where courtship is regulated very strictly and the amount of time young people spend on their cell phones (hours of guys with the phone to their ears saying "yes... oh... really?... uh,huh.. yes.... yes...oh... ok..." was just painful to watch.