THE HOUSE THAT DIED OF A BROKEN HART (THANKS TO WHITE SWAN DARKENING) (WORK IN PROGRES)

There were this house - stood a lone
Roof tiles missing from the roof
The rain soon got in - rotting the curtains
Floorboards - soon followed - fell through
Mice - rats moved in - pigeons lodged in roof - rafters
Ivy had grown up the outside walls
Grown up to the roof - lifted the roof tiles
Sent them crashing to the ground - over time
The whole roof fell in - the chimney stack - became lose
Toppled over - fell - crashing through the roof
A lit candle was seen at the front window
Windows , smashed - broken - the candle remained lit!

Over the years - roof fell in - no one came
To repair the decaying old house
The plaster walls suffered the rising damp - plaster fell - exposing the beading

The father - the husband - never got over the death of his son
You see - he had filled his son's mind with tails of Kipling - the glory's of the empire
The glory of The King - and of course - God!
How good it would be to fight for both - besides The War be over by Christmas!
After the death of his only son - he took to drink - often found drunk in the sea
When the telegraph boy arivde with the news of Paul's death - she could not read it
Her husband - the father - read it out aloud - the mother - turned around - did not
Cry
Went up to her husband - hit his face with back of her hand - a diamond in the Engagement ring - a deep cut made cut to the bone - blood gushed out - she said Not a word
And never said a word to her husband from then that day on
The Sportsman Inn - just down The Sandwege Road - then one day he failed to arrive home - found dead in the sea - the following day not far from home - some say he'd taken the wrong way home from the pub - collapsed dead drunk - other said he walk in to the sea - killed him self

It was said the old woman - mother lived there in the house - alone - her grief
Her only company
The mother alone died there all a lone - she were found - sat looking out of the window - candle flame flickering

Her son - her only son had died in The War , he never returned
And she never got over his death - he was nineteen
An officer - lead his platoon - most of 'em older than he
A pointless attack Paul - that was his name - died leading the platoon
As did his men - none cam back
After his mother died - the council pulled the house down

All that remained of the house - once a home - was a shell
Anything worth nicking had been taken - copper - lead piping
Ripped out - sold for scrap
Belongings long gone

Some say the ghost of the house can still be seen
The light of the candle - flickers - sounds of a mother sobbing heard
For her son - who went off to war - never to come back home to his
Mother

ken d williams

The Dyslexic Wordsmith





Poetry by ken d williams The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 527 times
Written on 2015-10-20 at 16:24

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Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
What a sad but story. I suppose there were many of these stories after the great war. But in those days people never spoke about things. I think that made it worse for them. Whenever I saw veterans on ANZAC day as a young kid I remember they did not speak much. Some things are probably unspeakable. Great work Ken.
2015-10-23



There is nothing more enjoyable than a good ghost story. And you've written one poetically. And also a strong statement about war, and sons who are drawn into misguided conflicts and don't come back home alive. Truly a house of sorrows. Good write.
2015-10-20


josephus The PoetBay support member heart!
Some pain transcends even death. It manifests itself in the spirit left behind, the candle and the woman, for those with sensitivity enough to see. Well done, Ken.
2015-10-20



A very touching write Ken.
And I love the candle :)
2015-10-20