Woman In Black Poem by David Lewis Paget

‘Come out, come out! ' I whispered to her,
‘Come out from your padded walls,
There's a world of love that waits you here,
There are hills and waterfalls,
The sky is blue in the summertime
And the swallows dive in the field,
Come out, come out, ' I knocked at her door,
But the door was barred and sealed.

‘You were bright and gay just yesterday,
When we walked in the park at noon,
You chattered in your excited way
Of your plans for the month of June,
You picked a posy of buttercups
And you plaited them into your hair,
Then skipped and danced as the breeze came up
For the joy of the day out there.'

‘So why have you barred your door to me
When my love is fastened on you,
What has become of our reverie
That you said was more than my due?
You've locked yourself in a gloomy room
At the end of an ancient hall,
What in the world's come over you…'
‘I stare at a crystal ball! '

Her voice came echoing through the door,
In the tone of a girl who'd cried,
Her sobs seeped up from the oaken floor
Of the room where she sat, inside,
‘The world outside is a sham, ' she said,
‘The meadows are barren and dry,
And over all like a leaden pall
Is the arch of a greying sky.'

I went to say that it wasn't so
But a cloud had covered the sun,
And out beyond me the fields were dry
The river had ceased to run,
The swallows, building their nests had gone
Where the sun still shone at noon,
Shadows formed, and my face was grim
As my soul was steeped in gloom.

‘What did you see in the crystal ball? '
I said, with a tongue so dry,
‘I saw our love to the end of it, '
She said, and started to cry,
‘I saw the woman in black that came
To shatter our marriage vow,
And tasted blood on the lip you split
That once you had kissed, ‘til now.'

‘That crystal ball is a lie, ' I said,
‘For none of it's happened yet,
You're looking far to a future that
My love will make you forget.'
But overhead was a thundercloud
And lightning shattered a tree,
While thunder rumbled and shook the ground
As if to admonish me.

‘I'll always love you, ' I shouted out,
But then it began to rain,
The thunder clattered and drowned me out,
And all I could feel was pain,
I begged my lover to let me in
But she just ignored my pleas,
And then I noticed a woman in black
Watching me through the trees!

4 November 2012