Distance Never Lies!

The cottage in the country

Had become my main retreat,

From the chaos of the city,

From its never ending beat,

From the traffic and the steeples

Of the people and their cares,

I could leave it all behind me

When I went to ground out there.

 

It was just an hour’s driving

Through some shady country lanes,

Round the far side of a mountain

And by cultivated plains,

Until sheltered in a valley

I could spy our cottage roof,

And my tension would release me

When arriving there, with Ruth.

 

There was little of the comfort

That we take for granted there,

Just a worn old wooden table

And for each, a shaky chair,

With an ancient cast iron heater

And a kettle on the hob,

We had the whole world beaten,

It was like a gift from God.

 

At dusk we’d wander hand in hand

Out past the Pepper trees,

When the heat of day was cooling

With a gentle valley breeze,

But lately I had sensed out there

That something must be wrong,

I couldn’t quite get over it,

The feeling was so strong.

 

I waited ‘til the morning, then

I paced the ground outside,

I hadn’t been mistaken, though

My memory had lied,

I thought there’d been just sixteen paces,

So I told myself,

From cottage to the Pepper tree,

But now, there was but twelve.

 

I hesitated speaking out,

Then mentioned it to Ruth,

We’ve always been wide open

And there’s nothing like the truth.

She came and paced it out with me,

I think she thought I lied,

Then went back in the cottage and

She sat right down, and cried.

 

We spent a pensive week out there

And noticed how the floor

Pushed up in different places where

It raised, and jammed the door,

And cracks were re-appearing where

I’d fixed them long ago,

The cottage walls were leaning

And I said, ‘I told you so!’

 

We paced each day the garden from

The cottage to the trees,

The changes were so slight we prayed

And Ruth would mutter, ‘Please!’

But one day when we paced it from

The Peppers to the den,

‘It’s not twelve paces anymore,’

I said, ‘It’s only ten!’

 

‘So what’s the explanation, John?’

Ruth said, before we left,

I didn’t have the answers, I

Was feeling so bereft.

‘There’s something scientific

Going on, beyond our ken,

The world has started shrinking,

And it has to do with men,’

 

‘Perhaps the outward motion of

Our growing Universe,

Has stopped at last, and now the thing

Is moving in reverse!’

I only know our one retreat

Has shrunk to half its size,

The trees are at our old front door,

And distance never lies!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[TPK Stories]

another exciting tale david. . .

[TL Boehm]

How the world and lives ebb and flow, nothing ever remains static, and our favorite places develop jagged floors. this made me nostalgic for places in my childhood. Well penned.

[S]

i felt as though i was in the story. such strength. :)

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

One finds himself strolling around these thoughts ike apple trees, well done, good read.

[Marie]

Oh dear. Well maybe the distance didn't shrink; maybe the house and the pepper trees grew instead. Growth might explain the cracks and the leaning walls. If the earth had indeed started shrinking there would be other, more horrific changes...

[R Smith]

Haha loved it as usual David, probably not funny but you have a way of writing that makes me think of humour first and more serious issues second, I can see that universe reverse, I did a similar one too, way back great minds and all that, I always enjoy your journeys into the land of fantasy and wondrous stories, thanks for another such tale :)

[MomzillaNC]

Such an engaging way to talk about the way our lives and our world seem to keep getting smaller. Loved it.

[Helena]

This was such a wonderful read David. Much enjoyed. It reminds me of when one visits a place after many years, once visited as a child.....everything seems much smaller!!

Thanks for another masterpiece! :)

[Jennie Baron]

Wow, David, an amazing poem and story. So wonderfully worded and structured. It truly grabbed me.