To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

From what I remember of yesterday

The world was simply a mess,

Everyone at each other’s throats,

It was awful, I confess.

I thought, we can’t keep living like this,

There’s going to be a war,

Someone will drop a nuclear bomb

It will all be on, for sure.

 

I had a drink with a couple of friends

And we sat discussing our plight,

Nobody wanted to go on home

‘Til the clock had struck midnight,

I felt so tired when I went to bed

And the last words that I spoke,

Were: ‘Everything’s going to be all right!’

In the morning, nobody woke.

 

I staggered out at seven o’clock

Splashed water on my face,

Looked in the mirror, taking stock

With my hair all out of place,

A silence seemed to settle on me

From the road outside my door,

There wasn’t a car to be heard out there

From the morning traffic’s roar.

 

I went outside and the road was clear,

And the barking dogs were still,

Barely a sound but the rustle of trees

In a breeze from over the hill,

I tried to ring on my mobile phone

But the signal tone was dead,

I called my neighbour, over the way

But he lay, stretched out in his shed.

 

I went and knocked at his own front door

And tried to alert his wife,

But she was sat on a couch in there,

There wasn’t a sign of life,

I took the car to the hospital

But the ambulance door was shut,

And not a nurse was on duty there

As the tension grew in my gut.

 

I checked the patients in every room

They lay so still in each bed,

All the alarms were going off,

But everyone seemed to be dead.

I drove in panic each winding street,

But not a soul did I find,

I was the only living man,

I felt they’d left me behind.

 

There wasn’t even a dog or cat

Though I saw their bodies lie,

Just as if they’d fallen asleep,

Forgot to wake up, and died.

I checked the radio in the car,

Each station, nothing but hash,

And TV flickered on empty screens

Though I’d paid the cable cash!

 

Each day I wake to a silent world

Though I cry out loud in my sleep,

I find I’m having to talk to myself

Or forget how I used to speak.

But nature grows in the open streets

And green invades each home,

While waters rise in the dry creek beds

And the rivers are overflowing.

 

There’s eucalypts in the barley fields

And the sea encroaches the shore,

The rain that falls is so clean and clear

That I drink it, more and more.

The stores that sit in the supermart

Went off when the fridges died,

I walk alone on an empty shore

And find I’m crying inside.

 

We thought the world was a crazy place

When the human race was whole,

We’d talk and bicker among ourselves

On everything bought and sold,

But now the earth is an Eden, I

Can’t help but think it’s a joke,

I keep expecting an Eve to appear

Since the day that nobody woke!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Veronica Chandler]

The adventures seem to spill with ease and thrills from your pen; each more grand than the last. I would push all other writes aside to gobble another verse. The pieces you create delight with twists and turns; I crave them like cakes and candies. In a mere few lines I am utterly engrossed, and I don't think you have failed to capture me one single time. Thank you again David for such thrilling ride.

[Valentine]

Aw...poor baby..left alone with no Eve to hand you that fruit off of the tree or keep you company..Another gem...I feel what living along must be like some days..Kathie

[Sir Joseph]

A very amazing poem! I found myself moving along with the emotions and following more and more. Honestly it would make a great movie ha! Bravo on the deliverance on such a wonderfully crafted piece!

[Lena M. P.]

Last Man Standing. Loneliness is a hell upon itself. We should be careful what we wish for; today may be better than we thought.

[Tate Morgan]

Ive often wondered what i would do if i awoke as the omega man.It seems like such a lonely existence.I suppose i would eventually give up and end it in a civil way.makes you wonder if man will ever outgrow his infancy

[redflutterby]

As you know I'm a huge horror/sci-fi fan and this is the one idea that actually scares the hell out of me. The thought of being the only one spared and the desolate life you would have. Sorry I'd rather the plauge or zombies get me. Thanks for another chilling story in verse. ;-)

[Melissa Sofia]

Everything you write is amazing, I'm always wanting more. This one especially reminded me of the 1964 movie, The last man of earth!

[Collins]

It was so real for me.The meaning of your poem. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like being alone in the world. This fascinating work has given me a glimpse of idea. Well done

[Kenilo Kent]

Hollow! Hollow world! Hollow life! Hollow time! Hollow man!

[Marc Marlon Villaflor]

Looks like I am watching a movie :) great work!