A Story Never Shared

Written by Sylvia

Let me tell you a story I have never shared before
Except with my friend because he can understand
I married a man and James William was his name
Said he loved me, treated me alright and made no demands

He and his buddies would get together for a night out
Drinking and partying all night, they thought it was all right
When the bars closed, there were other places to go
Places in people’s houses, liquor sold late at night

On a Friday night as he was getting ready to leave
We had an argument over the very thing I dread
One thing led to another and before he closed the door
The last words I spoke to him were, “I wish you were dead!”

At three in the morning, there was a knock at our door
His friends were standing there and said to me
He’s hurt bad, you need to get to the hospital fast
No shock that he had been hurt, he carried a gun, you see

The police were there waiting for me to arrive
They asked me to come to a private room
And I knew something was terribly wrong
Some questions were asked and I answered, my mind filled with doom

I was filled with dread and afraid to ask
Where is my husband, I want to see him and paused
They said, we are sorry but he was shot and he’s dead
I was led to a stark white room and there he was

A sheet was pulled up to his neck, his face was gray
Sacks covering his hands, to protect evidence they said
His bloody clothes and shoes were lying on his chest
And just like they said, he was dead.

They told me he was at an after hours place
There was an argument over a pool game with a man
Guns were pulled and shots were fired
That is when my nightmare began

The other man was hit in the arm, barely grazed
My husband was shot in the chest
The bullet hit his heart, the doctor said
and James William was dead before he hit the floor, he stressed

And throughout all of this, I kept thinking
That just before my husband shut the door to leave
The last words I ever spoke to him were
"I wish you were dead", now I have begun to grieve


Copyright © 2007 Sylvia A. Feeley All Rights Reserved