Crumbling Fortress

A country maiden 
wandering through ancient forests
came across a lake with an island fortress 
inhabited by a sailor lost at sea

Iron gates were bolted closed, 
rock walls, thick and strong;
the lake, deep and clouded,
had neither stepping stone nor bridge 

He watched her from his window
as she sat among the wildflowers
humming soft melodies
and he spoke to her across the water

She returned to sit at the shore each day,
sharing her joys, her sorrows
and her poetry with him
and he grew accustomed to seeing her there 

He made her laugh, she made him feel
and as the seasons changed
he didn't notice the chains fall from the gate;
the walls begin to crumble,

And when she rode the wind across the lake
on the tail-feathers of a great blue heron
he only noticed the tenderness of her kiss
and the warmth of her heart

And he hardly noticed
that he let her in
until she was already there




 

january 2011 
 


  



Awarded by Poetic Constellations ~ Ayana