OwlsNestBard

Name:
Location: Shire of Trisel, Trimaris

I am in my late forties, a proud husband, father, and a bard. I am a book pedlar by trade and a bookman by vocation. I am a romantic, a realist, and a Believer. I like a good joke, and a bad one even better. I admire all ladies for the innate beauty that is in each one, but my heart is sworn to the fair and gentle Lady Lorelei, who has consented to share my life and my name.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Setting Myself Up Again

I've always been a sucker for a damsel in distress.
Cry upon my shoulder and your wish is my command.
I can't bend backwards far enough to serve, I must confess.
More the fool am I to put myself into your hands.

There is a pretty poison hidden in a woman's tears
That unleashes all my instincts to comfort and protect;
To kiss away her sorrows, and release her from her fears,
And drives out my last vestiges of reasoned intellect.

I always see the dangers, but I disregard the signs,
So eager am I to display my sense of chivalry.
But all my efforts fail to bring success to my designs
When all my best intents meet up with cold reality.

It's not that I'm naive about what's likely to occur.
I'm cynical enough to understand the game's a cheat.
And yet I gamble anyway, an addict as it were,
Compelled to hope that this time I will somehow not get beat.

And so once more, I leave myself unguarded and exposed,
To care once more and to reveal my vulnerability,
Dreaming that someday I'll find the one who is supposed
To offer in return the same concern and care for me.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Discernment

When contemplating spirituality,
I find it most adviseable to know
What suffers most unpopularity,
For human nature dislikes hearing "No".
Faith is unwanted when it bears a price.
No one likes an inconvenient truth
That rquires self-denial, sacrifice.
So when I look for spiritual proof,
I look for what is hated and reviled,
Condemned and ridiculed, and called a fraud.
That which drives the common wisdom wild
Is likeliest to be the word of God.
Our fallen state's revealed in the remark,
The human heart hates truth, and seeks the dark.

Friday, February 23, 2007

My Evil Forty-Three's

"So who was it using the evil 43?"

...some anonymous Talmerian.

They're more functional than elegant
As bladed weapons go.
Any beauty is an accident
Of practicality.
Not things to stimulate the lust
Of collectors in the know,
But cheap enough to serve my needs
With brute efficiency.

Their virtue's in their length,
A mere three inches past the norm;
that I must ask permission
To use one in a fight.
Yet no one has refused
To allow me to perform
Againt them with my forty-three
Clutched in my sword hand, tight.

But oh! Those three short inches
Are as good as any mile,
When the marshall cries, "Lay On",
And it's time to come to blows.
Advantages are rare enough,
And so I have to smile
When those inches make the difference,
And my opponent knows.

Still, I must be careful
That I don't rely too much
On my blade length advantage,
For a skilled opponent will
Turn that length against me.
So it cannot be my crutch.
I still have to practice
To be master of my steel.

I'll fight you with my right hand,
Or my left, or brace of swords,
With dagger, or with buckler,
Or any style you please.
But know that when the time is past
For making rhymes of words,
I'll meet you on the field
With my evil forty-three's

Thursday, February 22, 2007

A Bag Full Of Fifty Cent Words

Words have meaning, words have power
Words have consequences.
Consider well what is unleashed
On unsuspecting senses.
Frame the question, fix the answer
Redirect honest perception.
The picture is what you say it is,
The heart of self-deception.
Find the truth within the lie
With which the hook is baited.
It's closest to the altar
The Profane is situated.
Overloaded nuance,
Fluid ambiguity.
Sophisticates take pleasure in
A fine hypocracy.
Diplomatic phrases parsed
To maintain the illusion
That definition's malleable
Just add to the confusion.
Dally with prevarication,
Hidden inferences imparted,
Which only serve to bring us back
Around to where we started.
For despite our obfuscation
With pre-ambles and defences,
The words that pass between us
Still have their consequences.

Monday, February 19, 2007

The Revealing

When you wish to know me,
What I think and what I feel,
How I see the world
And how I see you,
Then you will read me,
Seek out my poems
And experience my words,
Look into the window I provide
To see what burdens
Weigh most upon my heart,
And why I treat you as I do.
When your desire to know
Becomes an overwhelming necessity,
Then you will find me open to you.
I will yield to your touch
And offer you my arm.
I am here for you,
But I am not the one
Who maintains the veil between us.
If you want to truly see,
Then you must remove that veil yourself,
That all I have to offer you
May be yours.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

I am not your lover.
Nor do I think I was meant to be.
I am here to clean up the mess
And pick up the pieces
After each lover has gone,
Leaving you wondering what happened,
And not wanting to be alone.
I place on you no obligations,
Expectations or anticipations.
Perhaps I'm just too damn old
To play those games any more,
But I would rather have you
A friend for a lifetime
Than some temporary thrill.
And at my age,
The rollercoaster has lost its charm.
So I am here when you need me
Waiting for you to let down
Your defences long enough
To trust me to do no harm.
I am not your lover,
Nor was I meant to be.
I simply love you, as is.
No questions asked,
And let it go at that.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Sweetheart of Our Company

Circumstances beyond our control prevented this from bing presented as planned. But the sentiment is still true.


Tomorrow is the feast of Valentine,
The patron saint of lovers and sweethearts,
Celebrated with the finest wine
To dull the sting of Eros’ pointed darts.

And we who fight with brave steel in our hands
Are not immune to Cupid’s forceful call,
And every one among us understands
There’s one who’s the sweetheart of us all.

With her unsurpassed generosity,
She holds us all together by her art
So any fool among us plain can see
That of our company she is the heart.

Sirona, dear, tonight we honor thee,
The sweetheart of our fencing company.

Monday, February 12, 2007

For Crown Princess Dierdre

When winter lies heavy upon us,
With long nights, and days cold and gray,
And it seems that the warmth of the sunlight
Is a memory fading away,
Then we happily bow to the lady
Who banishes midwinter’s gloom.
For winter’s cold blight
Becomes May morning light
When Dierdre walks into the room.

When we see her graceful countenance
We fall over ourselves to obey
The lady who has such a merry heart
That she brightens a cold winter day.
When our Princess walks among us,
Who cares what the weather may bring?
We all take our seat
At the fair lady’s feet,
Around whom it always is spring.

Our Princess commands our loyalty
For the joy in us she creates.
When we hear her laugh, like birdsong,
We know that the springtime awaits.
And though the mid-winter blows dreary,
Our hearts are merry and warm.
For we know there lies
In our Princess’s eyes
The promise of Spring to come.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

For Queen Kora

Though our throne is won by conquest,
By King Gunther’s strong sword hand,
He could never hope to rule by force
Our proud and spirited land.
But at his side there stands a power
More subtle than battle wiles.
For who can refuse a royal command
Whene’er Queen Kora smiles?

Have you seen the sun in the morning
When there’s not a cloud in the sky,
Seen it dancing on clear blue water
To dazzle and please the eye?
You might think such a show of light
Unmatched for display, or style.
But it’s pale and drab in comparison
To our Queen Kora’s smile.

In a kingdom known for its beauty,
Our wealth of feminine grace,
There’s none that can match the splendor
Of that lovely royal face.
For we gather by the hundreds,
We line up, rank and file,
Hoping to catch the briefest glimpse
Of that bonnie royal smile.

There are treasures of gold and silver
For which men struggle and toil.
But here’s a trove of more value
Than anything dug from the soil.
For I’d carry any burden,
I’d travel a thousand mile
If at the end there was waiting for me
Our fair Queen Kora’s smile.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Bad Boys Never Ever Make Good Men

Dedicated to a couple people I know.

I see you with your broken heart
And I can sympathize.
There's nothing like a loss at love
To cut you down to size.
Yet this freight train was avoidable
If You will realize
Bad boys never ever make good men.

He wears shades and black leather
Cause they're never out of style.
Girl's knees turn to jello
When he flashes them a smile.
But when it's time to settle down
He'll see you in a while.
Bad boys never ever make good men.

Riding harleys with no helmet
Cause the wind fills him with joy.
But he can't read a bed-time story
To a little boy.
Children cramp his style
So he would rather redeploy.
Bad boys never ever make good men.

When it comes to making love
Well he's as smooth as glass,
Showing all the moves to make
You think that he's first class.
But try to make a life with him,
He'll play you for an ass.
Bad boys never ever make good men.

He'll blind you with his roguish charm,
He'll dazzle you with cool.
He has the body that would make
A grecian goddess drool.
But expect him to take care of you
And you'll wind up the fool.
Bad boys never ever make good men.

So enjoy his flowing locks
And his devil may care grin.
Enjoy his muscled body
And his form like mortal sin.
But when he leaves you broken
You'll remember my words then.
Bad boys never ever make good men.

Yet you can't wait to go
And let him break your heart again.
Bad boys never ever make good men.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Another Roll Of The Dice

I've played long shots before, and always lost,
Reaching for a prize beyond my grasp.
Always falling short, though within sight.
And now another beckons me to try,
To risk the odds against me one more time.
So many miles between me and my goal,
And yet I know that if I do not try,
Then I can know that nothing's going to change,
And every night will be just like the last,
Another step towards a lonely end.
And so once more, I gamble and reach out,
Accept the risk of failure once again,
And let another judge my worthiness,
Knowing the potential there for pain.
I know that's something that can be endured
As long as there is hope that it will end.