Thursday, December 2, 2010

Pristine


MAGPIE TALES
http://magpietales.blogspot.com/
supplied the illustration

PRISTINE

The evening hung heavy, my darling,
As I waited for you, all alone.
I sat in my chair drinking coffee
And awaiting a ring on the phone.
It was five, it was eight, then eleven!
You were never this late in the past!
It must be that something had happened!
If only you'd come home at last!
Ah yes! A small sound in the driveway!
The sound of your tyres on the snow!
The sense of relief was stupendous!
I'd kill you for scaring me so!
You were there! Gazing in through the window!
Was that blood on the side of your head?
Poor dear! You'd encountered a problem!
To think I'd imagined you dead!
I dragged open the door to embrace you.......
No-one there! Just the dark! Just the dark!
And the snow, glistened smooth, glistened pristine;
Ghosts never leave any mark.
*
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JURY DUTY

I've never been called to Jury Duty, though I'm quite an age,
But I was once a jury member in a play upon a stage.
The play was 'Trial by Jury', which was rather apt, I guess;
It was one of the Light Operas written by G. and S.
(Gilbert and Sullivan, of course; I'm sure that's understood.)
I remember thinking, at the time, that it was rather good.
We were an all-female jury and we wore extravagant hats,
While the gentlemen, who were lawyers, wore shiny shoes and spats.
We only had to sit there, giving a frown or smile,
And often bursting into song, in true light opera style.
I can't remember the numbers; it's all so long ago,
But I'm sure today's musicians would find the whole thing slow.
Now, I'm a so-so singer, but dancing's not my thing;
I find it hard to remember words while I hop and prance and spring!
So I remember 'Jury' as a show that fitted my bill,
For I could act my heart out while I was sitting still!

23 comments:

Tess Kincaid said...

I like the deliciously haunting quality of "Pristine". Nice write, Rinkly!

Maggie said...

I thought this was terrific and I have been there, waiting...

Sue J said...

There's always that feeling of dread when someone is very late. Justified in this case.
I loved you acting your heart out while seated too :) Great Magpies.

R. Burnett Baker said...

Oh, I liked this! But some ghosts leave their mark on our hearts!

Nice Magpie!

Rick

Tumblewords: said...

They don't leave a mark. Amazing. Love your writing in this piece, it exudes tension and twists at the end.

Business IQ said...

Lovely post! Glad to have found your blog.

kaykuala said...

It is most terrifying to anticipate the unknown when someone close isn't there. Great magpie!

Suz said...

a delicious poem to read
and I never saw it coming

annell4 said...

A tale too often true.

Andreas said...

Nice poem. Well-written and well-considered.

Lyn said...

How delightful! So true about ghosts!!

Amanda Moore said...

Your ending made my heart drop!wonderful to read to bad it was not longer!

Paul Andrew Russell said...

I must say, I never saw that ending coming in 'Pristine'. Marvellous piece of writing. I loved it. :-)

Kristen Haskell said...

Oh those helpless feelings when someone is really late.

Kimberly said...

Wow! The last lines caught me off guard, but in a good way. That's the mark of a lovely (yet haunting!) piece of writing

Teresa said...

I absolutely love your first poem--so romantic and tragic.

izzy said...

Wow! nice- wasn't expecting that! Thanks.

mel said...

ooooh - didn't see that coming!

fabulous twist...

:)

chiccoreal said...

Dear RR: Absolutely love Pristine! How chchchilling spine-tingling! And the dramatic acting in G$S was very sublimely suppine! Ah yes, lazy actors school of acting I did so enjoy!

Carrie Van Horn said...

A wonderfully written and chilling poem....i love Pristine! You have a wonderful talent Brenda! :-)

Dave King said...

A nice touch of humour in both poems, but the first one wins it for me. Good all the way until the last four lines, when it excelled itself. Congrats.

Kavita said...

My gosh!! The first one really gave me the chills! The turns it took, it was really super racy.. and scary and sad towards the end! And I really must say, WHAT AN AMAZING STORY! I was hooked right from the first line! When melancholia turned to hope, and hope finally turned to everlasting sadness ... very beautifully written! A superb take on the prompt!

As for Jury duty...hehehe.. what a thrill that must have been! ;)

Shail Raghuvanshi said...

I liked both Brenda. Lovely. You have a way with words...