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Terry Flood | + Follow Poet |
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Cherub - A Partially True Fairy Tale

“I like it; go get it and stand it right there.”
The ‘It’ was a concrete bird bath
It was heavy as hell; about all I could bear
I struggled… my wife had a laugh

She’d seen it online; it was selling ‘as seen’
A gift bought for our feathered friends
Those birds seemed quite wary, why might that have been?
I guess that it rather depends….

                ****

Twas something not right in the garden that night
Something I didn’t suspect
If some ancient sage had shared his insight
A hammer would quickly correct

But there on the cobbles where it had been stood
A cherub, supporting a bowl
Innocuous really, it looked fairly good
Though its face hid a mischievous soul

Its face wasn’t pretty, I say without pity
It was made of grit, sand and cement
Its stone composition could not have ambition
It could neither sin nor repent 

But hindsight they say is a wonderful thing
And I now know it bided its time
It held itself back and then launched its attack
Can concrete be guilty of crime?

It’s sunny in May, here in the UK
And my wife got the sun lounger out
But, occupied, I, heard a godawful cry
What was all the melee about

My wife was spread-eagled on our cobbled deck
Her blood puddled there on the ground
The large concrete bowl that the cherub had shed
Was its weapon… and all that I found

I helped my wife up while avoiding the glare
Which I told myself couldn’t be real
Of that concrete face with its grey concrete hair
Then agony made my wife squeal

With no time to waste we drove off in haste
The hospital wasn’t too far
But all I could see was that cherub’s stone face 
And I felt it was there in my car

Well it got it wrong; my wife was too strong
No statue could take her from me
She lay in a bed for a week that was long
I decided to set us both free

I’m sure in my mind that it wasn’t unkind
For inanimate objects can’t think 
But I saw its face and it felt out of place
I intended to kick up a stink

I bought me a hammer, a big whammer slammer
I planned to rain all kinds of trouble
To convince that cherub to plead with a stammer 
Then smash it to bits at the double

Its face simply shattered as bits of it scattered
Each hammer blow harming it more
I stopped when the cherub was thoroughly battered
Then there was a tap on the door 

The love of my life held a huge hunting knife
A sure sign the cherub had lost
But she was dull grey in a concrete like way 
And it seemed that I must pay the cost

I knew, what she muttered, the cherub had uttered
It spoke with a snarl in its voice
“What is it you want?” I fearfully stuttered
It said, “You or me… make your choice!”

Copyright © Terry Flood | Year Posted 2025

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Beryl Edmonds Date: 5/21/2025 9:35:00 PM What an awful experience, I’m pleased to read that Annie on the mend… Beryl Login to Reply

Jan Allison Date: 5/20/2025 3:13:00 PM eek terry this really gave me the creeps hope Annie is on the mend sounds like she had a tough time in A & E bet shes glad to be home and will be wary of that cherub! hugs jan xx Login to Reply Terry Flood Date: 5/20/2025 3:27:00 PM I couldn’t begin to describe how happy she is to be home, Jan. when I was holding her (which they asked me to do) while they operated without anaesthetic and blood was literally spouting from her torn arm, she told me she knew she was dying. I told she wasn’t but I felt I was lying (sheesh… we poets huh?). If you’ve read my replies below, I don’t blame the ‘trainee’… I blame the system that left her unsupervised. BUT… there’s a poem and a half in the ‘discussion’ I had with the 999 service who basically said, ‘a hurty arm doesn’t get you an ambulance.’ Thanks for stopping by, Jan

Paula Goldsmith Date: 5/20/2025 10:26:00 AM What a powerful write/story you have here. Glad all is OK with you. I think, I would give the cherub statue away and look for one with a smile. "Good Luck" in the contest. Have a lovely day writing away.............. Login to Reply Terry Flood Date: 5/20/2025 3:30:00 PM Thank you, Paula. It was a painful and scary experience. Not sorry it’s over. Poor Annie has been through the mill this year. Hopefully… the only way is up. Terry

Constance La France Date: 5/20/2025 6:19:00 AM Terry, wonderful writing, I hung to every word, I will never look at cherub statue the same, well done, blessings ~ Login to Reply Terry Flood Date: 5/20/2025 7:23:00 AM Thank you, Constance. We’ve had that cherub birdbath a year or so and never looked at it too closely. Once it ‘attacked’ Annie I became aware of its less than ‘angelic’ expression. Naturally, I didn’t smash it with a hammer… but there’s this little voice in my head…………

Lin Lane Date: 5/19/2025 7:03:00 PM What the bloody heck? That's freaky and so is that face! Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 5/20/2025 9:32:00 AM Lol. You want scary? Read my pimping of Peter Pan. Terry Flood Date: 5/20/2025 9:29:00 AM I suspect that my neighbours might call the police ;-) Lin Lane Date: 5/20/2025 8:02:00 AM I am fully aware that a trainee cannot learn without doing, but supervision with patients who need gentle care is not a matter of "oh well, I think I can do it." How horrific for both of you. I say this with all due disrespect of that chubby cheeked cherub. Turn that creature around and stare at it's naked butt instead! And tell Annie I said so! Terry Flood Date: 5/20/2025 7:37:00 AM Annie’s happy as a sandboy to be home. She sleeping in the shade of our large pear tree as I write. The real horror began, when I rushed her to A&E (emergency ward) and she was steri stripped (by someone with the word trainee on her badge) until the bleeding seemed stopped. Only later., at home, in agony did we get an ambulance back to hospital where they found an artery (I think TWO) bleeding internally, meaning her arm was trying to swell but was crammed inside now excruciatingly tight dressings. The arteries were stitched without pain relief (?) and the now reopened wound properly stitched under anaesthetic. Anyway, she’s home, the cherub lives (for now) and Mr Reaper goes home empty handed… again. Of course, the whole thing was asking for embellishment…. And then I saw the wicked fairy tale contest… well what could I do? Lin Lane Date: 5/20/2025 5:52:00 AM She ok? Terry Flood Date: 5/20/2025 5:19:00 AM Literally just this minute brought Annie back from a week in hospital. I never really noticed the cherubs ‘evil’ face before, but now I can’t UN-SEE it. Fortunately, she hasn’t turned into grey concrete, so I might just be safe from the forces of evil ;-)