Arthurian Merlin

 

 

 

 

 

three  of my 2013  poems written   on theme of life of   king Arthur

I is  a  retelling of the  lust of  Uther for Igraine

II  is  the  story of Merlin beguiled by   Nimue

III is the  death  of Arthur

 

I

 

Merlin fetches  a sea ran spell to turn  King Uther

 

leaving  out  one word of nine

the  lusty king  is mistaken

For

rather  than

by

the lady

 

timbre haired  ice cream girl 

the lady Igraine  Ygerna

 

Both women now live in the castle to the confusion of her lousy man of a husband

 

 

Merlin comes  to the rescue with cloak  and vapour

cracks a cage to catch hawk feathers

stumbles   headfirst into a  midden

counts himself under a mire

 

What a fine lady  pale and trembling

rope  arches to a casement

is that the shriek  of a gull?

 

 

II

Trees hide temple and given altar

Bride my foolish brother  my foolish sister

Merlin and his queen lady

   she says thy spells

Seeks your secrets

 

Hide the light   and the steps  to his old Earth

 

Hand on lake

Let me touch the ice

Darkling grail

 

III

Wolves and isolation crying to the pity

The day of his death

 

Move out of sounds  way 

Thin walls to the fortress and the moat

 

A mid coloured banner   bends in the rain

Dross frost  of pin flowers

Ancient bleak of wheat

 

No body say  doomsday

 

Dead in the stink of weird Avalon 

The champion is dead

Dead

 

The tide throws out the grave

 Award his armour

Scale turned to rack insects

 

 

 

Is  that  the shriek   of a Gull   Mark Littler  2013

Darkening  Grail  Mark littler 2013

Wolves  and isolation   Mark  Littler  2013