Georg and Sally

I’ll tell you a tale, one of a bizarre crime,
Of Georg and of Sally, one as old as time.
Though knowing the victim is not relevant,
Read this poem, and think: what could have happened?
The case took place in the Great British Isles,
In the suburbs of London, which was just a few miles.
In Georg’s and Sally’s small flat full of trials,
Where they lived in a friendship of a peculiar style.

It was a long time ago, when they first met,
Eyes meeting from afar, too shy so they’d sweat.
Then they got closer, and even closer they’d get,
Til’ they moved in together, on that very sunset.
Georg was never one to listen to any songs,
And Sally’s love for stories was never that strong.
But they never let any of these things cause distress,
Cuz Sally was mute, and Georg, he was deaf.

All their weekdays were spent exactly the same,
With a peaceful love they just couldn’t contain.
While Georg went to work during the day,
Sally stayed home and wished he would stay.
When Georg finally arrived home in the evening,
Sally did backflips, with joy she was beaming!
Or when Georg wrote poems up until midnight,
Sally stayed up fighting sleep with all her might.

Sometimes they’d watch the winter from the window,
But Sally hated the cold along with the snow.
Georg lit a fire in the big fireplace
Together in the apartment, they spent their day.
But sometimes Sally had too much to drink,
She couldn’t do more than gape and lipsync.
She never told him what her problem was
It drove poor Georg crazy just wondering what.

There’s no way of knowing, what Sally is feeling,
When her big eyes meet Georg through the glances she’s stealing.
She loved that boy with a burning passion,
‘Cause Georg was her first romantic interaction.
Georg viewed their relationship a little differently,
Of course, it was true, he really liked Sally.
He just saw her as his roommate, you see
Instead of a life partner, or his bride-to-be.

After a long while, the relationship went sour.
Georg thought of others more each coming hour.
The evening poems now rarer and rarer
More time spent away, leaving more room for error.
Sally stayed home all alone all day,
She stared at the wall, with nothing to play.
In her despair, she turned further within
After a few years, she let the madness win.

There happened a day, Georg went on a journey,
Sally once again was home bored and yearning.
In her loneliest hour, of the boy did she think,
And her sorrow only led her to take a bigger drink.
She finally decided, that when Georg gets home,
She’ll look annoyed at him, and won’t say hello.
She’ll turn her back, her face will be frozen,
So Georg can feel his friend’s anger towards him.

Included in her plans, was that she will say:
“Georg, you go to hell – for all I care – and stay!”
It doesn’t even matter if he’s eaten by something
The only words she’ll accept are “marry me” or nothing.
That thought alone made her whole body quiver
She knew after that the boy would never leave her.
She was sure, it will be better than it once was,
She nodded her head, and took another slug.

Midnight arrived, and Georg made it home.
He had a few drinks and might have been stoned
Sally said nothing, just looked on with judgment,
This is not at all how she imagined this moment.
She wanted to say, “Forgive me, I fear for you!
But now that you’re here, I don’t understand this you”
But all the drinks had finally gotten to her head,
She looked on wide-eyed and nothing was said.

Georg looked at Sally, saw her angry gaze,
Her blood-red mouth, her small, awkward shape.
He doesn’t even listen to his friend’s complaint,
Warmed from the liquor, he gives into his rage.
“Don’t look at me like that, you ruin everything!
Whatever you wanna say, I can’t hear anything!!
Leave me alone, now you can just go to sleep.
Or roll over and die, it makes no difference to me!!!”

As a response, Sally threw a fit
Gasping for air, her anger persists.
She now hated Georg from the depths of her heart,
In place of an answer, she drank more – and hard.
Without a sound, she silently laughed
And made a gesture to the boy that was quite daft.
It included all of her negative notions,
She doesn’t give a shit about Georg’s emotions.

But Georg saw the gesture that Sally exposed
It was the last drop, before he’d explode.
He couldn’t believe his friend would actually do this,
His drunken ego’s bruised, now he’ll be ruthless.
He grumpily waved, showing her his finger,
While his left hand was searching the back of the dresser.
This is not how he pictured their future together,
He picked up his sneakers, and threw them right at her.

The shoe was still on it’s way, flying towards Sally,
When Georg fell into bed, crashing already.
Turning the light off in the meantime ’til morning,
In a drunken stupor, he continued his snoring.
You could cut the darkness in the room with a knife,
When the shoe noisily landed on site.
According to a neighbor something must have broken.
Sounding like a window crashing, breaking open.

The next morning when Georg finally woke up.
He couldn’t remember that last night was rough.
With a pounding head he looked around,
And saw the broken glass lying on the ground.
He couldn’t recall what happened last night,
When he saw Sally’s bloody body in fright.
He fell to his knees and started to cry,
He knew that the truth was that Sally had died.

That’s the whole story I wanted to tell.
The ending’s a secret, I kept it well.
The real drama of a perpetrator and victim,
Which didn’t end well, for neither her or him.
Unrequited love and feeling isolated
Brought death upon one of these ill-fated.
But, if you made it this far reading my words.
Please, do me a favor, and read the last verse!

A few months after the incident passed,
I ran into Georg, poor thing was aghast.
He told me he dug Sally a grave,
Crying and digging, and weeping for days.
He laid his dear friend into the ground,
And on her gravestone a small plaque was found.
Written in gold, with a final well-wish:
Here lies your friend: Sally the goldfish.

Translated by Esther Brownwood. 2023.11.21.