Thursday 15 May 2014

The Castle

Another prompt from the Light and Shade Challenge and this time I was really stuck.  It is really good, though, to move out of the comfort zone, so I have gone for it.  

image courtesy of Evgeni Dinev/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There is a castle on the hill
A king sat there in days of old
His knights were brave, his ladies fair
A pinnacle of brave and bold

Minstrels there were, and jesters sharp
Ministers with wisdom deep
Priests and monks in cloistered nooks
All knowledge gathered in his keep

There was a knight, a lady fair
A false man and a desperate fight
A riven kingdom, empty hope
A funeral byre and fading light

The story's old and patched with songs
On threads that wore out long ago
Who knows the truth of treasure there
Before the final overthrow

Young lads go there to try their hand
Digging the vaults and dusty hall
The tombs are empty, nothing's there
A bird's nest in a broken wall.

Some nights, when Venus sails the sky
And Mars is courting near the moon
They say that ghostly dancers whirl
To echoes of an ancient tune

Splendour and crowns have tumbled down
The painted walls have faded pale
And while we bustle round our lives
Dust slowly settles on the tale. 

I admit it, I used a rhyming dictionary, but I did have fun.  Thank you for reading.  

3 comments:

  1. This was well-done. I don't really care if you used a rhyming dictionary; you kept the rhyme. I read everything out loud and this just flowed off my tongue. I didn't have a single place of hesitation. Well done:~)

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  2. Brilliant piece of poetry. I love how you captured all the majesty and mystique of that castle on the hill, the history...the folklore. Just awesome!

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  3. I loved the effortless command of rhyme and rhythm that kept this flowing so well from start to finish, and the wonderful richness of the history and people of the place. Brilliant.

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