Heart Stopper!

He crashed on into our dining room

Like a man convulsed with pain,

And breathless, gasped as he tried to ask,

‘What have you done with Jane?’

I stood En Guarde by the mantelpiece

And clutched at a kitchen knife,

‘Who are you, and what do you want?

You’re talking about my wife!’

 

He leant exhausted against the wall

And groaned, like a man obsessed,

I thought he could have escaped somewhere

That he might have been possessed.

‘I can’t believe she’s done it again,

She’s going against the plan,

I’ve told her time, and time out of time

To wait for her rightful man.’

 

‘See here,’ I said, with a touch of fear,

‘She’s mine, with never a doubt,

We married a couple of years ago

So I think I’ll show you out.’

‘I have to stay ‘til I see her face

She’ll remember when I do,

If you can’t stand up to the challenge, then

She never should be with you.’

 

He’d hit a nerve, and he knew he had

For I’d never been too sure,

For Jane had always been hesitant

When I’d asked for her hand before.

I thought there might have been someone else

Lurking behind her fan,

A former lover, she’d have no other

Now here was this crazy man!

 

I sat him down in an easy chair

And gave him a shot of Beam,

Then took a double shot for myself,

And stared at him, in a dream.

I tried to imagine her with him

And it shook me, without doubt,

For I could tell that they’d couple well,

Then wished that I’d thrown him out.

 

Jane came back home from her shopping spree,

Came in through the broken door,

And stood aghast at the pile of glass

He’d smashed there, down on the floor.

The stranger stood, he jumped to his feet

And held out a shaking hand,

‘I thought I saw you out in the street,

Don’t you know me, I’m your man!’

 

She held her nerve and she looked at him

As a stranger, far away,

‘I seem to recall,’ she muttered, ‘but…

‘All that was another day.’

‘Another day in a another time,

The fifth, but never the last,’

He looked at her with his pleading eyes,

‘Please try to remember the past.’

 

Then Jane went white as a cotton sheet

And said, ‘You couldn’t be Paul!

I left you last in the marketplace,

Leaning againt a wall.’

‘The soldiers came, and took us away,’

He said with the slightest tear,

‘They took us behind a barn that day…’

I said, ‘What’s going on here?’

 

It was suddenly like I’d disappeared

There were only two in that room,

Their eyes were locked in an act of grace

That I couldn’t share in the gloom.

‘Of course, it’s coming on back to me,

The bed in that cheap hotel,’

She seemed to blush as her eyes cast down,

And my heart had stopped, as well.

 

‘I’ve had just all I’m about to take,’

I said, ‘I want you to go!

And Jane, just tell me for heaven’s sake

You continue to love me so.’

The man stood up and he shook her hand

And he said, ‘That’s really an art.

I didn’t think you could act, my dear,

I was wrong, you get the Part!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Bright Ocean Star]

Oh, David, Barbz is at it again! This one is riveting and hilarious! 'Tis a joy to read your words, my friend. As what I say is true. For you have such great rhythm and rhyme, I hold my breath till I'm blue. Your endings are magically timed, I laugh in hilarity, I can't wait to read another, with all sincerity!

[TL Boehm]

Well DANG! Well titled indeed. I loved the poem - very funny and a nice twist at the end but it made me a bit sad to see Marie on your page. Been thinking about all those who've passed here. And those who've walked away.

[CoraRose]

Nice, this was entertaining, thanks or sharing.

[DIVYA]

This poem is really a heart stopper. Spellbinding!

[Laura Lynn]

Yes, I enjoyed reading this too!

[TPK Stories]

Another good story, David, as always.

[Barbz]

I shall remember never to lower myself to review a reviewer......David you are a genius and I am better for it..and I trust the rest of my world will be as well,!

[Sindu]

Incredible David! What else can I say! I was expecting a twist as is your signature move, but that is hilarious and so unexpected. Enjoyed the wide array of emotions painted there. I always feel like watching a movie when I read your poetry.

[Valkyrie Warrior]

WOW!!!!!!!!! I simply cannot get enough of your writing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Marie]

Jane may havae acted well enough to get the part she wanted, but the man who came crashing through the door---whoever he was--deserves a prize for acting too. I completely believed him.