Parting Note

There’s a blank sheet of paper before me,

It’s as blank as our lives have become,

But nothing’s been said, though the passion is dead,

We still make believe we are one.

And the days seem to drift on forever

In this mist that I call ‘No Man’s Land,’

Whatever I say, you’ll be looking away

And you never reach out for my hand.

 

We eat all our meals in a silence

And pretend we enjoy it that way,

I reach for the newspaper, you for a book

So our eyes never meet in dismay.

Where there once was a ripple of laughter

As your foot rubbed inside of my leg,

Your lips are now pursed in a silence that’s cursed

And I feel that you want me to beg.

 

We shop, as if we are together,

And we smile when we see our old friends,

But friendship is rare, as our friends couldn’t bear

To watch as this partnership ends.

They can sense all that distance between us,

And note that our smiles are grim,

We never accept invitations,

Unless they’re for ‘her’ or for ‘him’.

 

Now you’re suddenly working long hours

At the bookshop, when you feel disposed,

Though I’ve wandered at night in the market,

And noticed, the bookshop is closed.

Then you wander back in about midnight,

And go on straight up to your room,

You’re taking your showers at the strangest of hours

While I sit downstairs in the gloom.

 

So now that I’ve put it on paper,

I shall leave this brief note by your bed,

It might shine a light on our silences,

The issues that should have been said.

I know you’ll be happier once I’ve gone

So I’m catching the midnight train,

I want you to know that I loved you once,

But that love has now turned, to pain!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

It's so sad to be with someone; and yet, feel as if you're all alone. I think this is an agony beyond not having anyone. I love the somber tone of this one, the "blank sheet of paper before you" turned into a plaintive cry.

[Tom]

Sounds to me as if an affair had began somewhere along the way, perhaps just one of the likely symptoms when love fades and dies!

Sad though it was David, an all too true life event and told in your own inimitable, entertaining style!

[TPK Stories]

So sad when love turns sad...great story David.

[redflutterby]

Such sadness in this David...the kind I know to well. They say all good things come to end. The hardest part is when its already over but continues to drag on in some terrible mockery of what once was. Great poem!

[wordwarrior]

Oh this is so sad David and I hope it's not true! Whether it is or not, you have empathised so well with the emotions and lack thereof when love disintegrates.
Sad, but so beautifully said!

[Emerald Seas]

Love gone sour - an all too familiar story! Yet, well penned, my friend :)

[Marie]

A little work, a catchy refrain, and this could be a country song.

[TrimarcoRansome]

Ohh that gave me goose bumps! Brilliant poem, and as always a pleasure to read

[joshua deathdealer]

I'm always blown away by your style. This one is no exception. Great reference with the midnight train btw.