Return of the Wanderer

There’s a time at night when the moon is full

And the breakers pound the beach,

The world is dark and asleep, the gull

Lies nesting at the breach,

It’s then that the stirrings from the depths

Reach out, like a dead man’s hand,

And shortly, out of the rivulets

There are footprints on the sand.

 

They come ashore and they stand awhile

And they point, this way and that,

Considering well which way to go

As the waves erase their tracks,

Then a breeze picks up and it parts the grass

In a line up from the shore,

And the shape of feet on a farmer’s stile

Are left, till they dry once more.

 

While up on the rise, a cottage sits

With a single faint night-light,

Its simple beam like a beacon streams

Through the tar-black pitch of night,

While deep inside in a cosy room

Sleeps a girl called Carolyn,

Who tosses fretfully in the gloom

As she dreams the words, ‘Come in!’

 

The footsteps up from the field below

Stand still at the old front door,

The lock is rusty, the hinges swing

For an inch, or maybe more,

The wind is moaning and soughing now

And the door is soon ajar,

As the footsteps enter that sacred place

Under the evening star.

 

And Carolyn lies and moans aloud

As his death invades her sleep,

Since ever the depths had formed his shroud

All she had done was weep,

The footprints stood, facing her bed

For an age it seemed, they kept

A silent vigil, there by her head

When she woke, the sheets were wet.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

After leaving here to take a walk on the stuffy side of authorsden and the feigned professionalism of folks who are only published because they paid to secure attention for themselves, it is such a refreshing and wonderful thing to read your moving, touching, and compelling poetry once more ...

This piece is beautifully penned, while tragically sad in its message of a lover who return home from sea no more ...

It brings a tear to my eyes, not just that this piece is sad but, that you have received 1695 views, to date, on this great poem and only 29 people took the time to tell you they appreciated all your fine effort ... It truly is discouraging times for writers of any genre in this video go fast, got no time but for Facebook and Twitter age in which we live ...

My proverbial hat is off to you!

Marv

[Robert Haigh]

The rhythm and style of this one reminds me somewhat of a few of Longfellow's great narrative poems. Excellent imagery and drama, right to the end. A fine poem indeed!

[Beccy]

Beautifully composed David and the flow is just so very good.

You write poetry that tells a tale.

Beccy.

[barleygirl]

I'm not good at interpreting metaphorical writing, but this one is clear to me. I love the way this creepy ethereal action is going on for quite a bit before it's revealed who the wanderer is, & the whole time, there's a tension build-up between the lines. Every line follows logically in the story being told, carrying the reader along with interest & curiosity. It's rare to have the reading of a line require a wrap, without disrupting the perfectly structured rhyme & rhythm. Very elevated poetry for the likes of us mere mortals! *smile*

[Tomás Ó C..]

A benevolent spirit : cool

[Tomás Ó Cárthaigh]

Great to read again!

[softlyfall]

Oooo her incubus is her drowned lover? How spectacular is that? Actually this should be a novel.

[richieb]

David, great imagery, verses flowed gently accompanied by music of the mind. Imagination can take liberty of who and what is "The Wanderer". Wonderful read, enjoyed it. Richie

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

One can't help but feel for all of the widows left behind at the hands of the sea. So many men have been lost in that watery grave of the deep. You are a master!

[David Scott]

I thought you might be telling a story about the celestial bodies in orbit by the title. Yet our minds have these thoughts in hidden orbits as well. They visit as and when they will it seems.
A little spooky, but most likely explainable if we only knew the right questions to ask.
Are you experimenting with shorter story form? It seems people don't have the patience to read more than two or four stanzas anyhow. Ha.
Fun read and great write as always David.