Zanzibar! Poem by David Lewis Paget

She lay so pale, under a veil
On the hard mortician's tray,
A tube ran down from her artery
And her blood was seeping away,
I'd never seen her so still and white,
So cold, and her eyes so glazed,
I shook my head when they said, ‘She's dead! '
More than a little dazed.

It had only been just a week ago
That I'd gone to call on Jan,
And there, right under the portico
I'd met her sister, Anne.
I'd heard about her before, of course,
The mysterious older Sis,
Who'd travelled far, was in Zanzibar,
Hong Kong and the Middle East.

I'd wondered how she could pay her way
When I heard the awesome tales,
This woman trekking the Russian Steppes
And ending up in Wales.
Now here she was in a Sydney Street
Not a hair was out of place,
Her eyes were shining to greet and meet,
Deep set in her suntanned face.

I must admit that she stirred me then
So I had to drop my eyes,
I'd been with Jan since I don't know when
So I thought it more than wise,
A jealous woman is worse than hell
And I'd rather stick with bliss,
So reached for Jan and I held her hand
As she introduced her Sis.

She'd come to stay for a month, she said,
Then had to be on her way,
She had to meet with a Turkish man
In a market in Cathay,
But Jan was not even curious,
Though the questions crossed my mind,
Most of them would be spurious
But I wondered what I'd find?

What was her line of work, I thought,
How did she make it pay?
Was she some rich man's paid consort
In a Persian alleyway?
Was she smuggling drugs or guns
With secrets tucked in her bra,
Or was she a spy for love, or funds
From a man in Zanzibar?

She settled in to a set routine
In the house, it was absurd,
She always seemed to be normal, not
The hellfire that I'd heard,
We'd sit up late by a blazing grate
Play cards, and drink and rave,
Then Jan went off for her monthly trip,
And she said, ‘You two behave! '

She laughed at us as she left, and said
That she'd be back in a week,
It was always some promotional tour
But of what, she wouldn't speak.
For both these sisters were secretive
Tight lipped on the things they'd do,
But when she'd gone, Anne came on strong,
And said, ‘I'm looking at you! '

Jan crept back in about midnight, and
She caught us both in bed,
She screamed and ranted about the room,
Went quite right off her head,
She pulled a knife and she went for her,
The startled sister, Anne,
‘You've always stolen the one I loved,
And you! You're never my man.'

The body lay on the silver tray
As they walked me in, then out,
Identifying the corpse, they said
So there wasn't any doubt.
They placed me cuffed in a Candy Car
On a charge of Murder One,
While Anne was headed for Zanzibar
As I said goodbye to Jan!

14 December 2014