Poem:general rating: Legacies

[debriswoman]

Title: Legacies
Rating: general
Word count: 151
Form: poem
Characters: Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson
Notes: retrospective response to the January prompt, previously posted on ffnet. Pattern inspired by John Masefield.



Legacies

~0~

Battle weary soldier on a half pay pension,

Limping into London from a far flung land;

With a legacy of fever,

Bullet wounds and nightmares.

Haunted by the havoc of a brave last stand.

~0~

Solitary student in a scorch marked lab coat,

Staring down a microscope for long, lone days;

With a legacy of logic,

Science and deduction;

Blithely unaware of his eccentric ways.

~0~

Battle weary soldier takes a walk through London,

Meeting an acquaintance from the wards long past;

Promise of a flat share,

Cheap accomodation;

Restful, ordered residence and peace at last.

~0~

Solitary student stuck in dismal quarters,

Hoping to afford a more inviting place;

Promise of the rent halved;

Quiet fellow lodger,

Room to greet the clients who begin each case

~0~

Solitary student faces weary soldier,

Knowing he has suffered in the Empire's name;

Promises are altered,

Legacies confounded;

Neither life, of course, will ever be the same.

~0~

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Aw. This is magnificent! I love the repetition and how you've blended to the two seamlessly. Yea! (and you've turned me on to a new-to-me poet to read. Ta)

[debriswoman]

Thank you very much:-)
The pattern is similar to his poem, “Cargoes “...learned by heart at school. Another fairly well known one is “Sea Fever”

[orchid314]

I especially love the line limping into London from a far flung land but the whole thing is wonderful.

[debriswoman]

Thank you, really pleased you liked this:-)

[scfrankles]

I'm particularly taken with that poignant thumbnail sketch of Holmes in the second verse - and of course it would be a scorch marked lab coat ^__^

It's a lovely portrait of the two of them.

[debriswoman]

Thank you:-)