Topsy Turvy

Samantha worked in the Take-away

Right next to the Coalpit Mine,

With a cheery smile for everyone

Til the day that her eyes went blind.

One minute she served up fish and fries

Then her world went eerie and dark,

‘Has the sun gone suddenly down,’ she said,

‘Behind the trees in the park?’

 

They called me back from my p.m. shift

For they knew that we two were close,

She’d dated some other miners too

But she’d gone with me the most.

‘You’d better get her on home,’ they said,

‘There’s something wrong with her eyes,’

She stared in a peculiar way

With a vacant look of surprise.

 

The doctor said there was nothing wrong,

Or nothing that he could see,

‘It must be something psychological,’

That’s what he said to me.

He flashed a light in each of her eyes

But she didn’t even wince,

I must admit, it troubled me less

Than events that happened since.

 

I said perhaps we should get engaged

Rather than take it slow,

I’d be her eyes and a steady guide

Wherever she’d need to go,

She smiled that wonderful smile at me

And said, ‘You need to be sure,

You’re tying yourself to an invalid

Who can’t venture out the door.’

 

We bought the ring at a jeweller’s shop

Where she chose the ring by feel,

A tiny diamond, glittered and shone,

She asked if the stone was real.

We laughed as I guided her back home

And she clung on tight to my arm,

I swore that I would protect her then,

And stop her coming to harm.

 

A week went by, and I took my leave

From the dirt and dust of the mine,

We laughed and loved and said together

That things would work out fine,

But then I noticed a subtle change

In the way that the house was laid,

The rooms seemed somewhat bigger than ever

The architects had made.

 

The chairs and tables would move about

From one day to the next,

I asked Samantha what she had done

And she answered, ‘Nothing yet!’

She didn’t trip and she didn’t fall

As I did, the fault was mine,

I had two eyes but I couldn’t gauge

The depths of Samantha’s mind.

 

She said she had to rebuild her world,

Recall from her memory,

And if it wasn’t exactly right

It wouldn’t matter to me.

‘You have two eyes, you can navigate,

While I’m still trapped in the dark,

I still remember that day of fate

When the sun blinked out in the park.’

 

We opened the door to venture out

And I blinked, and gave a grunt,

The supermarket was on the right

With everything back to front.

‘The mine was off in the east,’ I said,

‘But now it’s off to the west.’

Samantha shrugged, ‘Does it matter now?

You’ll see, it’s all for the best.’

 

She walked as if she had perfect sight,

While I just followed behind,

My head was spinning in horror at

Each different thing that we’d find.

And people stood, and stared in the street

As if in a total daze,

They turned and twisted and took it in

This mirror glimpse of their ways.

 

‘You have to set it to rights,’ I said,

‘You have to turn it around.

The people here will be going mad

At what you’ve done to their town!’

‘They’ll have to adjust,’ Samantha shrugged

As she went to step off the kerb,

Just as a double-decker bus

Came round the corner and swerved.

 

‘The road was suddenly back to front,’

The driver said, as he cried,

‘I had to get back over the line,’

He said, as Samantha died.

We live in a topsy-turvy world

In thrall to the power of mind,

When anything can that happen will…

(I hope I never go blind!)

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Lena M. P.]

I imagine people that visit from the states to some countries feel this way. We are used to driving on the right side of the road and would drive dangerously if we suddenly found that we needed to drive on the left. To wake up and find your entire existence changed would be a nightmare. A touch of Dr. Seuss meets the Outer Limits.

[MomzillaNC]

Wow! What a masterfully woven tale of unreality… of the struggle to make our world, to make the people of our world fit our own preconceptions.

[TPK Stories]

Life can be a little topsy turvy at times...great storytelling...

[Lyn Anderson]

A cleverly constructed interesting piece with a wonderful topsy turvy twist.

[Marie]

My goodness--Samantha was able to turn the world around to suit herself, and and then died because of it. Very imaginative.

[Woody]

you are such a wonderful poet and story teller, David!!! I haven't seen many like you telling a riveting long story in verse. the one that immediately comes to mind is Shakespear. your rhyme and scan, the "music" in your poems are stunning. it is an utter pleasure to read you.