The Lord of Judgement

The lamplighter held his pole up high

And rapped on each window pane,

‘Fix your shutters and pull your blinds,

Prepare for the coming rain.’

His footsteps sharp on the cobblestones

Held everybody in dread,

‘Snuff the candle and say your prayers,

Tomorrow you may be dead!’

 

And the gaslamps gave a flickering glow

In the empty streets and lanes,

While the Moon shone pale through the trees below

Lighting each window pane.

‘Prepare to pay for your darkest sin,

Reflect on the deeds you’ve done,

Sit round the table and, holding hands,

Wait til the storm has come!’

 

Then a wind blew cold through the narrow streets,

With the sharp, cold sting of rain,

And in the distance the lightning flared

Where the Lord of Judgement came,

And nobody dared to breathe a word

That the monster might come in,

With breath of fire and a flashing sword

In his search for Carolyn.

 

But she sat deep in a dim-lit room

And she held the town in thrall,

Since ever her love in a dismal tomb

Was found, and she blamed them all.

She ringed the town with a purple mist,

They couldn’t get out or in,

And wailed out loud in a mourner’s shroud,

‘You’ll pay for this deadly sin!’

 

Then Carolyn sat by an empty hearth

And arranged a pile of bones,

The skull of somebody once she knew

And a pair of magic stones.

She placed the stones in the socket eyes

And the jaw began to move,

‘If only you’d loved as he loved you,

But your brother disapproved.’

 

She sat herself by the oracle

And listened to what he’d say,

She crossed herself with a hazel twig

And the skull looked old and grey.

‘Your brother took him aside one night

As a friend, and said, I quote:

‘It’s sad, so sad, but it has to be,’

Then he turned and cut his throat.’

 

So Carolyn sought her brother out

As he roamed abroad that night,

‘I’m told you murdered my lover, Drew,

Can it be, can that be right?’

‘I only did it to save yourself,

His love would have torn you apart.’

Then Carolyn moaned a dreadful moan,

And stabbed him, deep in the heart.

 

The lightning flashed and the sky lit up

Til it seemed as bright as day,

And the purple mist she had conjured, this

Thinned out, and drifted away.

You’ll see her wander the silent streets

In a shroud, as if she’s lame,

Her tears still running in lines and streaks

Since the Lord of Judgement came.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[ANTO]

Well this is a fine read to return David - it seems so long since I read you and yet not long at all as I immersed in this one. It has all your wonderful hallmarks that even though familiar and maybe expected to an extent by the avid DLP fan (as I am) - it still has the power to invoke the shudder and the Wow! that I have also come to expect from your writing.
Her revenge left her doubly heartbroken - and theres the rub.
Class poetry my friend.

[R Smith]

a very thrilling story David, you pulled a real beauty out of your hat here, full of mystery, horror and murder, not to mention fated love, one of the best ever and that's saying quite a lot by your high standards :)

[Einstein Noodle]

absolutely enthralled the whole way through .. read it out loud to myself .. such images so easy to see ... i watched it all unfold .. so well done once again .. i think this is one of your finer posts
E.