The Aura Of Abigail Church Poem by David Lewis Paget

They say that I have a gift, but I
Don't know just which is worse,
I've always suffered from second sight
But is it a gift, or curse?
My people came from the Druids, lost
Way back in the mists of time,
And the Welsh of my distant ancestry
Has made it a gift of mine.

I take in everyone's aura, rich
In yellow, red or blue,
The tints are constantly changing with
The feelings they're going through,
I always try to ignore it, and
I sometimes turn my back,
Just when the colours are darkening
And the aura turns to black.

Such was the case with Abigail Church
Who took to the local stage,
A fine and pretty young actress when
Live plays were all the rage,
She'd walk the boards as the helpless maid
Or the modern girl, done down,
And then her aura was orange with
A tiny touch of brown.

I'd sit at the back and marvel as
The play began to start,
She often looked like a rainbow as
Her mood changed with the part,
The red would flare with her anger and
The blue with love and care,
And yellow when she was light and free
With the laughter she would share.

I must admit I was smitten, and
I tried to ask her out,
She told me that she was taken, but
The guy was just a lout,
I saw his aura, magenta with
An overglow of red,
I thought that he could be dangerous
But I couldn't turn her head.

He tried to stop her from acting, said
The stage took too much time,
She should be happy to stay with him,
Her life was on the line,
They fought and argued most every day
And the neighbours had complained,
He raged and bullied her, come what may
And her aura turned to grey.

I saw her once in the street, and said,
‘You know he carries a knife!
Be on your guard now, Abigail,
He may just threaten your life.'
She laughed, ‘Don't be so dramatic,
He's all talk is my darling Jack! '
But I could see that her aura changed,
And impending doom is black.

She died on a Sunday morning when
He stabbed her in the shower,
Not once, but seventeen times as she
Refused to beg, or cower.
I knew that I should have gone to her
Explained my second sight,
But she would never have listened, though
I know that I'm always right!

7 March 2013