The Gravedigger

They said that he’d come from the cemetery

And I thought he maybe could,

In his coat with tails, covered in snails

And a cape without a hood,

He looked like a typical gravedigger

There was soil on both his hands,

And on top of that, an old top hat

Held on with rubber bands.

His skin a peculiar shade of grey

Like an old and weathered wood,

His eyes set back, under his hat

Each shot with a ring of blood.

His cheeks were sunken under his eyes

His lips in a rictus grin,

Exposed his teeth in a grin beneath

With some of them fallen in.

His trousers had a military stripe

Were in holes about his knees,

Where he had knelt, with an old grey belt

That suffered from some disease.

His boots had once been a shiny black

But were covered in clumps of mud,

As he stomped in like a burst of sin

From a grave he’d recently dug.

His voice had a curious rasping sound

When he opened his mouth to speak,

With a sort of croak, back in his throat

Or a rusty hinge’s creak.

‘I’ve come to escort the Lady Anne

On her journey, over the Styx,

That river of hate, at Hades gate,

Where she keeps her box of tricks.’

‘I think there’s been a mistake,’ I said,

‘For the Lady Anne is well,

She’s sat in a chair, just over there,

And dreams of heaven, not hell.’

‘Then little you know of the lady’s heart,

Or the object of her dreams,

Her cheating heart would tear you apart,

She’s never been what she seems.’

I went inside to the Lady Anne

And I tried to rouse her there,

But she was pale, and the air was stale

Where she lay dead in her chair.

I turned again to the gravedigger

Who was standing near me still,

‘I’ll take her corpse to the woodland copse

Where her coffin lies over the hill.’

I often visit the grave he dug

Which is edged around with bricks,

And sit beside the babbling stream

That they call the River Styx.

Then I call in vain to the Lady Anne

To reveal what she had done,

And sit and cry as I feel denied

By the love I thought I’d won.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Katie Lynn]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this David! The way you describe the Gravedigger absolutely gave me chills, and conjured quite the gruesome image in my mind. I wasn't sure where the story was going to go by the end but it definitely thrilled me. Beautiful work!
All the best, Katie

[TPK Stories]

What a sad tale of love. Love the photo David.

[Tony Jordan]

Methinks this particular grave-digger is multi-tasking. Maybe it's the way of things these days - clearly defined roles are disappearing as the workers are being exploited again, even those of the other realm.
Sad tale DLP. The man finally gets the girl only for her to leave him again :(

[Coyote Poetry]

A amazing short tale. You create sad place and interesting location. I liked how you used Lady Anne. You led the reader to the strong ending. Thank you David for sharing your amazing poetry.
Coyote