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.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A Jeremiad

Old fields grown green which once were red with fire,
And young eyes that ancient virtues now despise,
Face once again the threat of angry ruin
As ideologies take on new forms,
And civil war prepares to turn the page.
Fresh barbarisms flush out decadence.
Those who believe in nothing will die first.
Though elites prat on of liberality,
With shutters barred against the growing dark,
None now speak of the end of history.
A culture dies one province at a time,
When, street by street, fanaticism rules;
A battle lost by minute increments,
Until there's nothing left but a facade
Of what once was, and quickly swept away;
A legacy of freedom finally lost,
Defeated by the emptiness within.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

There's a Storm On the Horizon

There's a storm on the horizon,
There is thunder in the night.
The metallic tang of danger
Makes the forest birds take flight.
Hear the alarums of battle
That are borne upon the wind;
They are calling me to rise
And leave my lover's side again.

Oh, I long to stay beside her
Taking comfort in her arms.
Great is my desire to linger
Drinking deeply of her charms.
But the strident call of duty
Orders me out from my bed,
To make ready in the darkness
With my sword and shield instead.

Hear the rattling of harness
As we wait to meet the foe.
I can see the captain standing
With his horn prepared to blow:
For Death's angel may be waiting
With the coming of the light;
And I curse the circumstances
That have led me to this fight.

For I know back in my home
My lady's eyes are filled with tears;
And she prays to every saint she knows
To listen to her fears.
So I grip my weapons tightly,
They are all I can control;
And my chainmail's not as heavy
As the weight upon my soul.

There's a haze across my vision,
All I see is shades of red.
Mingled with the screams of horses
And the silence of the dead.
I give myself up to the fury.
I live just to swing my sword;
Knowing cold steel and six feet of earth
May yet be my reward.

And with every life I take
I pray to God that he'll forgive.
I don't want to kill nobody,
All I want to do is live.
I hate what I must do,
And I hate every bloody stain;
And I hate that I might never
See my lover's eyes again.

At the point of desperation
With my back against the wall,
My splintered shield is cast away;
I know I'm going to fall.
I cannot lift my sword again,
No choice now but to yield.
Then I look and see the enemy
Is fleeing from the field.

I haven't got the breath to cheer;
In fact, I lack the strength to stand.
It is all that I can do
To pry my warblade from my hand.
As I drift back to my senses
My body's racked and sore.
And I thank God that I am still alive
To kiss my love once more.

As we stagger toward our homes
I cannot count who all we've lost.
We may have won the fight
But we can ill afford the cost.
We are grateful for the victory
But I can tell you son:
There's nothing sadder than a battle lost
Except a battle won.

Then I see her cross the meadow
And she breaks into a run.
She's kissing me and hugging me,
Her face outshines the sun.
And though I'm drenched with blood
I rest her fears that none is mine.
I have lived another day to taste
Her kisses sweet as wine.

There's a storm on the horizon
But I'll let it pass this night.
I will go no more to battle
Let some other fight the fight.
Let some other fool chase glory;
I know glory's naught but lies.
It's enough to see the passion
Burning in my lover's eyes.