I heard my friend died yesterday, <br />It knocked me off my feet, <br />I'd passed the time of day with him <br />Last Wednesday, on the street, <br />He'd caught me at an awkward time, <br />I strained to get away, <br />He had some awful flu, or cold, <br />I didn't want to stay. <br /> <br />He phoned me later, chatted on, <br />I looked up at the sky, <br />I'm always so impatient with <br />This one annoying guy, <br />His jokes were inappropriate, <br />He laughed at them himself, <br />When wit was handed out, they left <br />His sitting on the shelf. <br /> <br />He wrote a bit, of prose and verse, <br />It wasn't up to scratch, <br />I'd see him coming up the drive <br />And flick across the latch, <br />He'd want me to critique them <br />And I'd hate to lay him low, <br />By telling him his talent was <br />Not up to 'so and so'. <br /> <br />He seemed to think that I was <br />Someone special in his life, <br />And tried to join the family <br />By chatting up my wife, <br />He really thought I didn't know <br />But still I kept my peace, <br />I didn't tell his wife on him, <br />Or tear him off a piece. <br /> <br />The one thing I will say is that <br />He always had a smile, <br />Whenever he caught up with me, <br />With notepad, book or file, <br />I've never known one try so hard <br />For friendship, in despair, <br />And in return, I'd tell the wife <br />'Just keep him out my hair! ' <br /> <br />But now he's dead, so suddenly, <br />It's time that I took stock, <br />The friendship was all his, you see, <br />And all I did was block. <br />The fault was not in him, I see, <br />But in my tardy soul, <br />For he deserved much more than me, <br />And now, I'm feeling old. <br /> <br />I wasted all the chances that <br />He offered me, for free, <br />To just enjoy a simple soul, <br />One who looked up to me. <br />I'm going to miss that little man <br />And pray his soul to keep, <br />For now I'd welcome anyone <br />To talk to, in the street! <br /> <br />29 January 2009<br /><br />David Lewis Paget<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-s-call/
