The Daisy Bree
I stood back on the quay and watched them
Raise the anchor, trim the sail,
Haul the spinnaker up to catch
The gusting breeze once under way;
They slipped out past the Harbour gates
And with them went my heart, my dreams,
As bitter fortune made it plain
That life is never all it seems.
My friend from childhood, Roger Cain,
My childhood sweetheart, Alice Drew,
They'd tied the knot an hour before
In secrecy, I never knew!
I'd thought that we had time enough
To sort it out, she'd made it plain:
'You either marry me, or else...'
She'd patted down the counterpane.
I didn't see her then for days,
She'd said that she was overdue,
I mulled it over in my mind
Not knowing what to say, or do.
I should have said I'd marry her,
I should have said a lot of things,
It's only through our own mistakes
We find out what misfortune brings!
I'd thought that I could trust a friend,
That love was steadfast, strong and true,
I'd thought that I could make amends
Not knowing what she'd think or do.
She'd thought more of her name, it seemed,
The fear of scandal muted love,
And Roger, he just took his chance,
Proposed, and she just thought, 'Enough! '
We'd sailed as boys out in the bay,
We'd dreamed of owning ketches, yachts,
When Roger's father died, he left
Him everything, and that was lots!
He bought an old-time sailing yacht
With work to do, the 'Daisy Bree',
And left me on the shore while he
Went gallivanting out to sea.
We'd grown apart, for well I knew
That he had lit a torch for her,
My Alice Drew, who thought it sweet
But I... I felt my anger stir!
He showed her over the 'Daisy Bree',
[...] Read more
poem by David Lewis Paget
Added by Poetry Lover
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