Dream Cottage

I saw the little cottage as

I walked upon the bluff,

A tiny little cottage but

I thought, ‘It’s big enough.’

There was only me to cater for,

And that would be sublime,

So headed for the owner

I would make that cottage mine.

It took time to negotiate

I owned it in a week,

Then moved in with a bed and chair,

A table made of teak,

The cottage overlooked the gulf

Was open to each squall,

That whipped around the cottage eaves

Each evening, in the Fall.

The wind would whip and mumble down

The chimney at times,

And beams would creak and grumble

As they do in cooler climes,

But the first time that I went to bed

I found I couldn’t sleep,

There was something in the air in there

That seemed to hide and creep.

I sat up startled more than once

At shadows in the gloom,

That moved around the stucco walls

Within that tiny room,

And then I heard the clashing of

The waves out in the bay,

That crept beneath the cottage door

And once in there, would stay.

I heard the creaking timbers of

A double masted barque,

That rose and plunged beneath the waves

Just like the Cutty Sark,

And when I fell asleep at last

I stood and watched the stars,

And saw them set the spinnaker

The top gallants and yards.

All night I was tormented with

The vision of this ship,

The crew a bunch of layabouts

Out on some evil trip,

The captain was a bully boy

Who beat and whipped his men,

He’d lash them to the mast so they

Would not rebel again.

Then early in the morning and

Before the dawning light,

I saw a woman standing by my bed

Who shook in fright,

Her form was quite transparent

I could see the further wall,

Right through the ancient shift she wore

She wasn’t there at all.

The ghostly figure wrung her hands

And wept most bitterly,

She cried without a single sound

But looked, beseechingly,

And then the captain of the barque

Came bursting through the door,

And seized the woman by the hair,

Then beat her to the floor.

He raised a twisted leather whip

At which I leapt from bed,

And screamed, ‘Leave her alone, you brute,’

But both of them were dead.

I startled him enough to see

Him turn towards the door,

Then fade like some weird hologram

As she climbed off the floor.

 

She smiled at me and blew a kiss

As if to thank me then,

For saving her a beating from

What year, I don’t know when.

The owner came with a receipt

And found me on the bluff,

‘I see you’ve had the Cottage Dream,’

He said, ‘Once is enough!’

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[BlackRose]

Masterful intrigue, gliding through seamlessly. Thanks for this most enjoyable read.
B.R. @,~/:o)

[T.S. Sky]

Intriguing, interesting, neat tale.

[Coyote Poetry]

A wonderful story shared my friend. I liked the honest tone leading to the proper ending. Thank you David for sharing the amazing poetry.
Coyote

[Chris Shaw]

Great flow and rhyme. A wonderful narrative full of rich imagery. Bravo David.

Chris