The Blank and Future Book

I’d always thought that books were the same,

There wasn’t a lot to choose,

They each seep slowly into your brain

With knowledge you can’t refuse,

But then a book I found on a shelf

All dirty and dark and dank,

I’d read so far, then turning the page

I’d find every page was blank.

The print will stay till I drop my eyes

And the book slips from my grasp,

Then every page that’s ahead is blank

As the book escapes my clasp.

The villain smirks as I lose the plot

And he changes what’s to be,

He struggles up from the printed page

In an effort to be free.

I read the book on a cliff top verge

Looking down along the coast,

The day was calm like a soothing balm

And I felt as warm as toast,

My eyelids, heavy as lead dropped down

Preparatory to sleep,

When someone scaling the cliff ahead

Called out, began to weep.

‘God help me, sir, or I’ll fall below,

On that pile of jagged rocks,

Reach out for me and don’t let me go,

You don’t look the type that mocks.’

I noticed then that I’d dropped the book

In a pool of mud, and rank,

It fell agape with a broken back

The following pages blank.

‘I have to ask how your tale will end,

It’s unfinished in the book,

Your villainous deeds go on, and then

Disappear each time I look.’

‘It ends any way you want it to,

It’s the tale without an end,

For you are the villain in the book

You can do what you intend.’

I stood up straight and I kicked on out

At the figure on the cliff,

And he fell back with a scream, a shout

To the rocks along the reef,

I turned to pick up the broken book

Wiped the pages free from mud,

There wasn’t a single page left blank

Each page was stained with blood.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Barbz]

Very deep and dark, David....a total figment of your imagination. this is a book meant for you to write, The readers of this future book would not be plagued by heavy lids nor by a dreaded conclusion! You are a genius with the pen and never a blank page in your future....The truth reveals itself in so many strange ways says this reader......Barbz

[Celie Rose]

I really like this poem. "then turning the page I’d find every page was blank" Your story..using your imagination writing whatever you please..I see you chose the villain..The villain smirks as I lose the plot
And he changes what’s to be, He struggles up from the printed page In an effort to be free. " I got an eerie feeling when I read this part. Your writings always make me think..well written. Keep writing

[Coyote Poetry]

Best books written because of testing life, travel and knowing love.
"There wasn’t a single page left blank
Each page was stained with blood."
Writers do bleed into their books. Kosinski is my favorite writer. His words drip with his blood. Thank you David for sharing the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[Valentine]

I really like your idea for this write. Being the bad guy, you can fill each page the way you choose. I agree with Barbz...this could make a good thriller of a book. Valentine

[roarke]

Had no idea where this one was going to go. Was full of fun and mirth, then turned mystical and then, stained red. Kinda the way life goes. A book with blank pages, I just draw scribbles and pictures in those...

[abderrahmane dakir]

I like your way how you use these words in a great story. Thank you for sharing.

[Einstein Noodle]

very cool!! if i ever tried to write a book not only the pages would remain blank but the room i couldn't leave and myself ..blank blankity blank!! ;) great read as always ..fresh subject matter .. have to say this is one of your best form me ..thanks for sharing sir! and Merry Christmas to you and yours!!
E.