Fallen Angel Poem by David Lewis Paget

My uncle married the only girl
That I’d ever really loved,
I’d thought that she was an angel, sent
Expressly down from above,
But her angel wings were tarnished,
It was money that bought her pride,
She wanted much, but she tried to touch
And I had to stand aside.

She said, ‘There’s nothing to stop us
Going out to the winter barn,
As long as we don’t go hand in hand
It won’t do us any harm.
Your uncle is much too old for me
But he’s rich, and wanted a wife,
And I was the one he set upon,
I wanted a better life.’

I looked at her in disgust, and then
I think that I almost cried,
‘You’ve taken your vows of love, but now
You’re telling me that you lied!
How could I even think of it
To betray his love and trust,
I’ve always wanted you for my own
As a wife, but not for lust! ’

She sneered at me so that I could see
The darkness deep in her heart,
‘You’re not going to let a wedding band
Forever, keep us apart?
I’ve only ever loved one, that’s you,
This wedding was simply a steal,
Get over your finer feelings, John,
Come into the world, get real! ’

I didn’t see her again that day,
And not again for a week,
I stayed inside and I locked the door
Of the cottage, down by the creek.
I don’t know if I was feeling sad
Or hurt by her easy lies,
I’d thought of her as an angel, but
The scales were stripped from my eyes.

I saw her next with the stable boy
He looked at her with a grin,
Then went on down to the winter barn
And she shortly followed him in,
I tried to ignore my feelings as
They shut the door of the barn,
But knew, if what I suspect was true,
I’d soon be leaving the farm.

My Uncle Joe was a surly cove
But a heart of gold within,
I think he had his suspicions, for
His face was suddenly grim.
I heard their voices were raised at last,
They carried all over the farm,
And that was the time, I thought she might
Be fraught, and coming to harm.

She knocked on my door at midnight
And she begged I let her inside,
Then pulled a gun from under her skirt,
Thrust it at me, and cried:
‘I think that he’s planning to kill me,
Or the boy, it was only fun,
But I saw him loading it after lunch,
I want you to hide the gun! ’

She disappeared in the darkness, and
I left the gun on the side,
It wasn’t until the morning came
That I thought that she might have lied,
They beat three times on the outer door
Then the door came crashing in,
‘Well here’s the gun, ’ said the sergeant then,
‘So the murderer must be him! ’

My Uncle Joe had been shot, it seemed,
When Narelle had been outside,
She said that we’d had an argument
And she’d heard a shot, she lied!
She said she hid in the winter barn
And had seen me walking past,
Still with a smoking gun in my hand
Then she found Joe dead, at last.

They said they ‘had me to rights, ’ they said,
My prints were over the gun,
They wouldn’t believe a word I said
That she was the guilty one.
They locked me into a padded cell
And Narelle came down from the farm,
She whispered, ‘It was the stable boy
That I wanted, all along! ’

She hissed she’d cleverly primed the boy
To free her from Uncle Joe,
‘It’s sad that you should carry the can
For our evil deed, I know!
But I’ve always known what I want in life
And it certainly wasn’t you,
Maybe you’ll learn as you serve your term
That love’s a deception, too! ’

I heard a clatter, the police walked in
And arrested her on the spot,
‘We listened to every word you said,
And yes, we taped the lot! ’
They let me go, back to the farm
But I get no joy from this,
For in my head, I hear the dread
Of a Fallen Angel’s hiss!

15 May 2013