Monday, 26 July 2021

Three Poems by Lawrence Moore

 



A Shieldmaiden Am I

 

The Evenstar shines brightly on my doom,

though it is he who rides towards the dead.

Permitted not to suffer by his side,

they will not find me weeping in my bed.

 

No Rider of the Mark could wound me so

(yet Wormtongue schemed and many others sought).

In every scene we shared, I saw a crown.

The lover stirred within must come to naught.

 

'Attend the sick,' I'm told, 'hear duty's call,

in kingdoms led to safety, glory lies.'

My hopeless heart will tolerate no cage.

No dry nurse here, a shieldmaiden am I.

 

Forsaken hobbit pity's only muse,

but few would envy him what lies in store.

No softness will I spare on my behalf -

the man is hers and Dernhelm rides to war.



Repay the Gift

 

Remember them all,

each slander and slight,

the huddled group and the obvious glance,

the words you weren't supposed to hear,

but especially those you were.

 

Take them to the laboratory,

refine,

mix with mortar and pestle,

experiment with abandon.

 

When you've fashioned something foul enough

to be worthy of the recipients,

go back and repay the gift.

 

Next life, I'll teach you forgiveness.

 

 

Must Be a Fairy Tale

 

When you're wasting away in rags each night,

when a rubbable lamp is your only light,

when the wicked step parents connive and spin,

when the wolf comes knocking and finds you in -

well, you might want to squeak with sheer delight,

for this must be a fairy tale you're in.

 

Believing this, you can reach the stars,

then proceed to galaxies near and far,

in an old forgotten castle delve,

spell with wizards, cavort with elves

and commission a prince in a twilit bar.

Just be sure your carriage is back by twelve.




Lawrence Moore has been writing poems - some silly, some serious - since childhood. He lives in Portsmouth, England with his husband Matt and nine mostly well behaved cats. He has poetry published at, among others, DreichPink Plastic HouseFevers of the MindQuince Magazine and The Madrigal. @LawrenceMooreUK

 

 

 

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