I mentioned in my introduction that I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), for many years, where among other things, I was a Bard. A Bard is an entertainer, a storyteller, poet, or singer. I was all of those, though mostly I thought of myself as a poet.
I don't post many of my poems here because they were targeted to that particular sub-culture, and many of them probably will not resonate outside that sub-culture. But some, I think, may appeal to a wider audience.
This is one of my most successful poems. By successful I mean that it really seemed to strike an emotional chord with with a lot of people. This is one of the few things that I have written that get performed by other Bards, particularly children. This always seemed odd to me because the subject matter does not seem like it should appeal to children. but it does.
Jamie was a fine young lad,
Who longed to be a Knight.
And many's the night he dreamed that he,
Was clad in armor bright.
He yearned to rescue maidens fair.
To strike down evil men.
To see the ladies safely home,
Then do it all again.
But day by day he'd seek to wrest,
A living from the soil.
His nights filled up with empty dreams,
His days with sweat and toil.
And in his heart he knew that it
Was never meant to be.
Great deeds were not accomplished by
A farmer such as he.
While walking home from church one day
He came upon a lass.
He found her weeping all alone,
Lying on the grass.
"You should not be here all alone.
The weather's very cold.
My Lady would you share my cloak?
It's warm though patched and old.
He took her home and fed her well,
And gave her warm Wassail.
To thank him for his kindness she
Began to tell her tale.
"My father is a noble lord.
A lord of high degree.
But I did love a servant lad.
And loved him tenderly.
"Many nights I spent with him.
And now I am with child.
When my father learned of this
His deeds were cruel and wild.
"Quickly he sent for my love
And there before my eyes,
He struck his head from off his neck
All heedless of my cries.
"And then he took me far from home
And left me there to die.
I wandered lost all through the night
Until you happened by.
"The one I love lies in the ground.
My own life I would take.
Though I would die yet I must live.
All for his baby's sake.
"Now I'll be a servant lass,
To scrub and sweep and bake.
For I must have a place to live.
All for his baby's sake.
And hearing this, up Jamie spoke
And said "Please be my Wife."
I will keep you warm and fed
And defend you with my life."
"My heart lies buried in the ground
A poor wife I would make.
But I will stay and be thy bride,
All for the baby's sake."
Twelve hard years have come and gone.
They are together still.
Their oldest son helps work the land,
His hand firm on the till.
They have two daughters and two sons
And another on the way.
Jamie lives a happy life,
And thanks the Lord each day.
And in his dreams he does not wear
A sword and armor bright.
But he wears that shining armor still
In her dreams every night.
Photo from Pixabay.
