Richard Tipping | + Follow Poet |
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Last Stand

The king was recruiting, He needed brave knights,
To protect all his wealth and his land,
And seek if he could, someone who would succeed,
And was worthy of his daughter’s hand.
A leader, a nobleman, brave to the last,
Who was always the first volunteer,
His armour had blood on but it wasn’t his,
Cos he really did not have a fear.
He’d once met the princess, the king introduced,
When he’d told him he must prove his worth,
His daughter, the princess, his major concern,
Since the twenty one years since her birth.
The battles were bloody, they’d lost many men,
But our hero would never concede,
The battlefield scene of his every success,
Looking fearless on his trusty steed.
The King called him in, told him that he was pleased,
One more battle would win them the war,
And if he succeeded as he’d always done,
He could then become his son in law.
The stakes had got higher, the princess the gift,
For success now, the greatest reward,
His chain mail was polished, his tactics were clear,
Tonight he would draw the last sword.
The fields now were muddy, the army reduced,
The night was quite cloudy and dank,
Adrenaline pushing him to this last stand,
The princesses hand in the bank.
But he hadn’t prepared for the coup that occurred,
Or that some of his men would dessert,
The traitors had now turned to the other side,
And more than any weapon that hurt.
Surrounded, still fearless, so brave to the last,
“I will issue a challenge” he cried,
A one on one joust for the princesses hand,
“Are you brave enough?”, “yes” one replied.
The voice came from nowhere, a timid young guy,
That he never had noticed before,
He laughed in his face at his stupid mistake,
He’d soon be lay slain on the floor.
The King got a message about what occurred,
He couldn’t believe his men turned,
He had faith in his number one soldier,though,
Whose daughters love he hadn’t spurned.
The joust was arranged for a quarter to three,
They both arrived early to fight,
The steeds had been watered, the armour arranged,
One would be betrothed by tonight.
Both in their colours, their jousting began,
The timid kid no longer shy,
He knocked the brave soldier down to the ground soon,
Said, “I’ve won and I’ll now tell you why”
“When I was eighteen the king contacted me,
And said I must become a knight,
I’d been very friendly with his precious girl,
But he said that I never could fight.
He expected me dead by the autumn that year,
He despatched me to have a short life”
And as the blade entered, his vict’ry secured, 
Said “I vowed I would make her my wife”.
The others fell silent, they couldn’t believe,
The fight they’d been standing to view,
From nowhere the princess jumped into his arms,
Said “It’s wonderful what love can do”.

Copyright © Richard Tipping | Year Posted 2020

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