Arthurian – The Royal Octopus

I spoke with stars, I bent the sky,
I taught the stones their song to fly,
I built a kingdom out of dream,
Of shining steel and silver gleam.

I whispered truth in Arthur’s ear,
I shaped his crown, I quelled his fear,
I saw the glory fate had spun,
A kingdom bright beneath the sun.

Yet time is cruel, and vision lies,
For what I saw was his demise.
A throne of light, a land of cheer,
All ended with a bloody spear.

I warned, I begged, I tried to bend,
But nothing stops the woven end.
The Fates had cast their threads so tight,
Not even magic breaks their might.

And love, ah love, my prison made,
A gentle hand, a trust betrayed.
By Nimue’s gaze my will was chained,
My wisdom lost, my voice restrained.

So here I dwell in shadow’s keep,
While heroes fall, and widows weep.
I knew it all, yet could not save,
The king, the land, the hope I gave.

What use is sight, if sight is pain?
To know, to warn, to cry in vain.
I am the prophet none could heed,
A hollow gift, a curse decreed.

2025 ©

You think you know the silver tale,
That drifts across the moor and vale,
Of crowns that break and vows that quake,
Of hands that rise from moonlit lake.

You think it speaks of only kings,
Of battle cries and shining things,
Yet hush awhile, let armour blur,
This song was always meant for her.

She dwells beneath the water’s skin,
Where reeds lean close and swallows spin,
A watcher set on silent keep,
A guardian in fathoms deep.

She weighed the worth of mortal breath,
She knew the bond of oath and death,
To Arthur, king the songs have made,
She broke the wave and gave his blade.

She waits there still where waters keep
The tides of time in secret sleep,
She keeps her watch, she bides her hour,
In cold clear halls of hidden power.

I went to find that whispered place,
Where moonlight touched the water’s face,
The reeds fell still, the night would wake,
And something moved within the lake.

Category: Arthurian

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