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Balladeer
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since 1999-06-05
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Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

0 posted 1999-10-15 06:56 PM


For reasons only God can know my motor died that day
And left me stranded in the hills that afternoon in May.
I trekked the hills with hopes to find assistance, if I could
And, after hours of walking, saw a cottage in the wood.

The cottage fit quite picturesquely in this tranquil scene,
The English countryside resplendant in its coat of green.
A gentle veil of fog and mist lie just above the moor.
I rapped my hand respectfully upon the cottage door.

She opened up the door. Quite pretty she was, I could see,
Blue eyes that could have melted ice looked at me, quizzically.
I told her my dilemma with my most disarming grin.
She chuckled sympathetically and bade me to come in.

I shook the mist out of my coat and asked to use the phone.
From all outward appearances, the lady was alone
Yet, as I looked around the room, I was surprised to see
That, on the dining table, there were settings placed for three.

"Oh, I am sorry", I exclaimed, "for I can plainly see
I've interrupted dinner for you and your family."
A tiny smile came to her lips as she said, "That's all right.
My man and son died years ago just on this very night."

I struggled hard to not weep as I stood in front of her
And said, "Oh, what a tragedy! What caused it to occur?"
"A hunting accident", she told me. "There, upon the moor.
My men would hunt each Saturday for pheasant and wild boar."

"The marsh can be quite treacherous. Huge quicksand pits abound
And, if one drops his vigilance, the sand will pull him down.
Apparently, my son got caught up in the sinking sand.
My husband went in after him. They found them hand in hand."

"For many months I mourned the loss that God had handed me
And felt I that I could not recover from that tragedy,
But then a vision came to me. I saw it constantly
And knew the day would come my men would come back home to me."

"So now I set the table and I wait for their return,
Await the day their silhouettes come pushing through the fern.
My man will call out HERE WE COME! SO SET THE TABLE, HON!
The way he always used to do...and our lives will go on."

I felt so sorry for the lass and her delusioned state.
The tragedy that she endured had simply been too great.
I held my hands out to her and I slipped my arms around
Her waist to give her comfort - that was when I heard a sound.

Cold chills ran up and down my spine. This really was absurd!
Apparently, I'd been affected by the tale I'd heard...
And then I heard the sound again! Too terrified to speak
I tiptoed to the window ledge to have a little peek.

I saw them walking through the mist - a tall man and a boy.
The young wife screamed, "It's them! It's them!". Her face was wild with joy.
The man held high a pheasant and the young boy held the gun.
I heard him call out, HERE WE COME! SO SET THE TABLE, HON!

I screamed..I think..I don't recall. I barrelled through the door
And flew as fast as feet could move across the valley floor.
My sides hurt and I felt my lungs were ready to explode
But didn't slow my pace until I'd reached a major road.

"Hi, honey. Who was that?", the man asked in a curious tone.
"Oh, just someone who'd broken down and asked to use the phone."
"But why did he run off so fast? He hurdled our front fence!"
"I don't know", she smiled, impishly. "He DID seem rather tense."




© Copyright 1999 Michael Mack - All Rights Reserved
caroline
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since 1999-08-16
Posts 1218
http://members.xoom.com/belladona123/index.htm
1 posted 1999-10-15 07:14 PM


LOL Balladeer! Methinks the lady has hoodwinked our 'Deer Great poem!

------------------
"Tread softly, for I have spread my dreams under your feet"~~William Butler Yeats


Dark Angel
Member Patricius
since 1999-08-04
Posts 10095

2 posted 1999-10-15 07:19 PM


Balladeer, this was great really great, hehe loved the ending

------------------
What comes from the heart goes to the heart.
Samuel Coleridge



Denise
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Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648

3 posted 1999-10-15 07:29 PM


Another great one! And just in time! I was starting to go through Balladeer withdrawal! (not pleasant!) Loved the ending!

------------------
Denise

Balladeer
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since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA
4 posted 1999-10-15 07:31 PM


Thank you, Caroline and Dark Angel, very much.

Denise, I'll try to make sure that never happens. I thank you.

Martie
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since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049
California
5 posted 1999-10-15 07:35 PM


What a great story teller you are Baladeer.
Watcher666
Senior Member
since 1999-10-13
Posts 1606

6 posted 1999-10-15 07:40 PM


I enjoyed this a lot!! Great story,very funny!

------------------
Illusion...what we see and what we do...it's all up to you.

suthern
Deputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Seraphic
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723
Louisiana
7 posted 1999-10-15 08:03 PM


Absolutely marvelous, 'Deer one... and well worth waiting for!!!! Big, big hugs!!! (But of course my hands are empty of hat pins. *G* Not that I blame you for being suspicious... but I had to toss them to applaud! LOL)
Poet deVine
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since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612
Hurricane Alley
8 posted 1999-10-15 08:05 PM


Very good! A poem about my favorite place in the whole world!!! And England is famous for her wonderful people! (never met a bore from there!)

Skyfyre
Senior Member
since 1999-08-15
Posts 1906
Sitting in Michael's Lap
9 posted 1999-10-15 08:12 PM


Ach! I was expecting the ending to be a little more macabre ... **sigh** ... ah well, 'tis well done anyway ... I really got caught up in this one, Balladeer, but then I have always been one who enjoyed a good folk tale. Thank you for the read.

Nocht

------------------
"Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, morierus"
(Now as I hear this bell tolling softly for another, it says to me, "Thou must die.")


Balladeer
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since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA
10 posted 1999-10-15 08:47 PM


My thanks to you all.

Suthern, I guess the only way to be safe from you is to keep you applauding! I'll try.

Nochtdraco....yea, I know. It was all set up for blood and gore but I couldn't pull the trigger. Maybe next time.

suthern
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Member Seraphic
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723
Louisiana
11 posted 1999-10-15 09:02 PM


Deer: Deal! *G* I'd much rather applaud efforts such as this than wield weapons... ('specially since I forgot and stored those pins in my back pocket last week! LOL)
suthern
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Member Seraphic
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723
Louisiana
12 posted 1999-10-15 09:02 PM


Darned repeats! *G*

[This message has been edited by suthern (edited 10-16-1999).]

WhtDove
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-22
Posts 9245
Illinois
13 posted 1999-10-15 09:26 PM


A hair raiser! I can just see you hurdling that fence. LOL...

Great one Balladeer, as always! Fitting for the Halloween season!

freespiritfem
Junior Member
since 1999-10-07
Posts 49
Cordova,Alabama,USA
14 posted 1999-10-15 09:58 PM


Ballader, this was Marvelous!!! I loved the way you described everything..it was so vivid...i felt like i was there, I really really enjoyed it...i have goosebumps!!!

Sincerely,

------------------

Paula Diane S.

Genea
Member
since 1999-06-15
Posts 321
USA
15 posted 1999-10-15 11:18 PM


Balladeer..the ending was a surprise...i expected her to be a witch and she set the place for Hansel and Gretel...lol I loved this one!!
Marilyn
Member Elite
since 1999-09-26
Posts 2621
Ontario, Canada
16 posted 1999-10-15 11:27 PM


Ah Sir Balladeer...you reeled me in with this one. Wonderful story. Hmmm you wouldn't be that kind of trickster now would you?..LOL. I guess walking up to your door would be an interesting experience!
hoot_owl_rn
Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750
Glen Hope, PA USA
17 posted 1999-10-15 11:33 PM


You sure do know how to tell a story Balladeer
RainbowGirl
Member Elite
since 1999-07-31
Posts 3023
United Kingdom
18 posted 1999-10-16 01:07 AM


ROFL...I'll have to remember that one...*g*

HUSG

------------------
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.


Rosemary J. Gwaltney
Senior Member
since 1999-08-26
Posts 997
northern mountains, Idaho
19 posted 1999-10-16 04:38 AM


This was really excellent! Fascinating, unique, and building tension the entire time; and then the ending was absolutely hilarious. I did not expect it to make me guffaw, I thought she really was off in the head! Ho Ho Ho!

------------------
...Living is ever like crossing rivers; finding a new life on each shore ... RJG

Systematic Decay
Senior Member
since 1999-09-15
Posts 1301
That place with padded walls and funny people in white.........
20 posted 1999-10-16 04:50 AM


LOL is all I can say

------------------
"Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage."
-Billy Corgan-

Munda
Member Elite
since 1999-10-08
Posts 3544
The Hague, The Netherlands
21 posted 1999-10-16 01:46 PM


You are quite a story teller indeed ! LOL Very well written, a pleasure to read and as always a surprising ending. Excellent !
Balladeer
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since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA
22 posted 1999-10-16 03:02 PM


Your comments make me smile and feel blessed to be part of this group. Thank you all.
Seymour Tabin
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since 1999-07-07
Posts 31720
Tamarac Fla
23 posted 1999-10-16 03:51 PM


Balladeer,
Excellent, but then I've never seen less from you.

JennyLee
Senior Member
since 1999-09-01
Posts 1461
Northwestern, NJ.
24 posted 1999-10-16 06:09 PM


LOL... Balladeer !! Very amusing,enjoyed very much!

Jenny

Nan
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Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA
25 posted 1999-10-18 07:41 AM


You are SUCH a brat!!
Toerag
Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622
Ala bam a
26 posted 1999-10-18 08:06 AM


Now why does a genius kill bugs for a living?
Beats the hell outta me?

Sally S.
Senior Member
since 1999-06-07
Posts 847
Ohio
27 posted 1999-10-18 09:51 AM


I love the twists and turns as you take us on adventures of the mind. You truly are a master of talents.
Kelly
Member
since 1999-07-03
Posts 145

28 posted 1999-10-18 12:46 PM


I loved it. Keep em coming.
Pepper
Member Elite
since 1999-08-19
Posts 3079
Southern Florida
29 posted 1999-10-18 02:34 PM


An Excellent piece Balladeer! Really loved the ending too!

------------------

May your days be filled with lots of sunshine and your nights lit up by golden moonbeams

Iloveit
Senior Member
since 1999-09-02
Posts 1121
NM
30 posted 1999-10-18 02:53 PM


joins in the applause, this was absolutely wonderful, you are quite the story teller *big grins* and yep, could just see you hurdling the fence lolol
Sunshine
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since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
31 posted 1999-10-18 03:53 PM


Now my mind twisted the end to have the lady dissolve in Sir 'Deer's arms, while forlorn husband and son came in, for THEY had set the plates as, upon hearing a rumor of their passing, the grieved wife and mother headed for the moors to find her loves, only to perish herself, while the menfolk had returned home, safe.

Ah well, your version is good, too! LOL.

Fine job, Sir 'Deer!

------------------
Sunshine
Look, then, into thine heart, and write ~~~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


WhtDove
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-22
Posts 9245
Illinois
32 posted 1999-10-31 01:11 PM





to the top buddy tis the day!

Verma
Member
since 1999-10-25
Posts 80
Midlands, England
33 posted 1999-10-31 01:44 PM


This is the first time that i've read this Balladeer, it really made me laugh.
Skyfyre
Senior Member
since 1999-08-15
Posts 1906
Sitting in Michael's Lap
34 posted 1999-10-31 06:01 PM


Big grins here -- a tale well told, and a dash of wit at the end -- quite a satisfying repast you have set before us, Sir Balladeer!

--Kess

------------------
You cannot choose the way of your death, but the path you choose will determine its own end.


U K Hero
Member
since 1999-08-08
Posts 266
England
35 posted 1999-10-31 06:05 PM


one of your best, much loved
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