Execution of the king – dVerse OLN

· by · in dVerse, poetry. ·


A group of knights in darkest wood
To dying cries of men in pain
In twilight hark the chilling drums
The signal for an end of reign

Compassion from the land is gone
as blood with blood tonight is paid
in twilight it is long till dawn
tonight they talk with rope and blade

The faces of the knights are grim
as sentences for death are read
his court comes first and last it’s him
the murderer they learned to dread

In fallen tyrant’s glowing eyes
he begs for mercy for his life
from honest men he still despise
from those he took both child and wife

Then terrors of his ruling time
ends for the king in hangman’s rope
as church bells play its solemn chimes
a signal for a growing hope

And as the dusk turns into night
a farmer’s walking slowly home
when through the wood he sees the light
his house a haven from his gloom

..

Dark Forest by Ivan Shishkin


Dark Forest by Ivan Shishkin


—
Tonight it’s dVerse Open Link Night, come with your poem and enjoy. Pub opens at 3 PM CET, and the bar will be stocked with cold beer, and just maybe, there might be some need for mulled wine, as autumn is coming. The poem above is rewritten and expanded from one of my first poem. It is in turn based on a few tweets I made 1,5 years ago.
—
September 3, 2013

59 responses to “Execution of the king – dVerse OLN”

  2. So many tyrants beg for mercy once they are caught and their life is on the line. Really enjoyed reading your poem with its wonderful rhythm and rhyme.

  7. off with his head eh? and looking for mercy where he gave none, now there is his mistake….esp when they come talking with sword and rope….really cool story telling in this bjorn….

  9. I enjoyed the rhythm of your poem Björn! I think the fourth stanza is my favourite and I also like the line “as blood with blood tonight is paid”. Great painting too.

  12. I love how you ended the poem with that aside to real life. I particularly liked this stanza,”Compassion from the land is gone
    as blood with blood tonight is paid
    in twilight it is long till dawn
    tonight they talk with rope and blade.” >KB

  15. Those deep dark woods, the kind which in South Florida is totally missing. LIKE the picture.

    Yup, first thought was some modern day greedy murderers. Sometimes it is so gory (gas) I have to believe, “They know not what they do.” WHAT PRIDE must have been involed in the life of that king, to believe he could/should determine who lives, who dies.

    I believe in today’s repeats, there is a LOT MORE to come….
    wELL done, your Majesty– 🙂

  17. to quote the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs “off, off, off with your head” I’ve a special place in my heart for reads with the theme of kings and queens and such, so this was a very enjoyable read for me! intense write!

  18. I like how each verse gains emotional weight of moving from something that happened in the past, to elements of things happening currently. Nice write.

  23. If only changing regimes were that simple, bloodbath for all. I really believe that pattern has to be broken. I don’t know exactly how. I hope that nuclear force is out of the question, but I thought chemical warfare was also off the table. But your poem is metered and rhymed to suit its material. Nicely done.

  25. Wow. I guess waiting a little time and expanding has great benefits. This poem is so well done. I really enjoyed the story and wish all bad rulers would somehow see their end.

  27. “as church bells play its solemn chimes” – I keep listening for those. I love the story and the truth in this. The ending makes me weary of all the world’s fighting.

  29. You’ve transported me to another time and place, and done so with such well-written metered poetry. It feels quite classical and enduring to me. That line, compassion from the land was gone…that stays with me

  32. …i gotta love this Old World Ballad inspired piece Bjorn…. the tragedy, the setting, the arrangement of words & sounds — all played a vital part to make this truly effective…. i’ll consider it a huge treat for a lover of classics… excellent! smiles…

  33. I’d just finished reading a piece on the recently unearthed remains of King Richard III. His end wasn’t a precise match to your telling, but it’s close. This is a lesson despots just don’t seem to learn in time.

  39. Colorful saga…to me, this has the makings of an epic poem…had you thought of that, I wonder…Would love to see an expansion of this…Well done!

  41. Indeed your iambic tet is fluid and easy. Quite a ballad here; beyond the Syrian connection – here in the US a monster who kidnapped, raped and held 3 women for a decade then sentenced to life +1000 years hung HIMSELF today – tyrants are often cowards (that seems to be implied here as well). Fine tale told, excellent metaphor for our times.

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