Best Medieval Poems
Medieval Flutes
Strings and lutes
Playing to my whims
She the student
I, the old one with musical overtures
She knows, she knows
Myself captivated yet I cant let it show
She knows, she knows
We play roulette, I love, she gives romance a go
I kiss her lips
Telling her this is but a seasons fading desire
My love is true; her blue eyes pierce the soul of this fool
She will love another, sooner than sad harps can play
Melodies of melancholy
She will leave with succulent sweetness
While the professor will contemplate loves demise
Buried in romance, burdens of love attack this darkened day
When a season makes its last breathless gasp
Its very survival is at play, struggle to the last
Who of us wishes to die so young, so tender
When one more love has yet to be embraced and softly
Rendered
That Ancient Darkside of All Hallows’ Eve Past
As in the fabled medieval times of centuries in the deep past,
It’s time once again to celebrate the hidden ugly horror that
Seeks to infest and devour all human souls in this new century.
Be warned that false-faced beggars shall knock at each door,
And unbeknownst to the common people that they shall meet
On this All Hallows’ Eve—all shall not be well and normal!
With their bloodstained masks these real Ghosts, Ghouls and
Goblins shall shout out “Trick or Treat” as a fiend’s true cover
For something that’s sordid, unclean, ungodly, and macabre.
Looking for a clever sweet surprise for the unsuspecting souls,
These devilish minions begin gathering and dancing wildly to
“The Dark Spirit of the Pale Hallowed Moon” on this night!
Shawled with the darkness of souls and their living nightmares,
Ghastly silver phantoms now seek to scare the living-death out
Of every innocent person they encounter on this darkest eve.
Houses are marked by an eerie orange-pumpkin-light escaping
Into the dancing-dark shadows that hold all night-life precious,
As these phantoms move freely in the frigid breath of this night!
Creating a palpable angst they begin shaking the tree branches as
Horrid and terrifying spirits of true evil and witchcraft escape into
The cold-dark ether caught up in the vile magic of Lucifer himself.
Fortunately, they are tricked by the sound of an old tune playing a
Heavenly paean for knowing “What's Right From What’s Wrong,”
And warning them that the wrath of Almighty God awaits them!
In the end, the absolute power and holy majesty of Almighty God
Served as the saving grace to this foul situation which threatened
The innocent souls who were ensnared by these unholy phantoms.
And so, if thou doth question the probity of what hath been related to
You in this sacred narrative, then thou shall risk forfeit of your soul,
As these evil phantoms lurketh ever in the shadows and never forget!
Gary Bateman and Liam McDaid, A Collaborated Poem
Copyright © All Rights Reserved – October 19, 2018
(Tercet)
STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
two strangers in the night met
no names were exchanged
no histories were unveiled,
only shared glances
wind sighed through gaunt tree branches
in each other’s eyes
a shared moment, communion
of sacred journeys
Hark, father, yonder poet hath no pen.
Still, my son. Doth the feather make the wren?
A brotherly jaunt through sinister mirth
behold the brothers Death:
gowned and guided, an ill century
the fourteenth, an alliance of crop, of plague
in ground-down death of torrential pains
in sores and blood under the rains
that drowned the land, starved the bellies
there echoed howls of ill exclaim
a wanting of a light to shine
is where the brothers thought that they
worked well together, effectively
one would scoop from ruined crop
one from sickness, war, attack
the beak, a sign, of the plague mask
in shacks, where hags mopped weeping rot
crosses on doors, on floors of straw
with nothing in the cooking pot
the brothers danced and sang their wealth
of many clientele they sought
and on they went, and on they struck
perfecting songs on appetites
of pestilence and of disease
hand in hand like trees whose leaves
do smother, smite, in murderous breeze
the brothers, down the ages tease
and beckon, wreaking havoc on,
like rolling waves of seas on high
always taunting their sister - life
The era has many glorious phases and faces
when it began on the fall of the Roman empire
Age of Darkness seized war and fire
and time stirred diverse cultures and races
Different flavors were tasted at the end of the story
Commerce and knowledge became Europe's glory
but division of Germanic tribes was Roman's fall
and many emperor’s responded to religion's call
From Clovis to Louis was Christianism
Monks lives and prays in their monasteries
Socio-political systems such as manorialism and feudalism
gave way for peace and order to avoid miseries
The knights are nobilities that needs to pass every ordeal
with passion, poise, bravery, and their will
to fight for their king, their land, and their brothers
no matter how far or how hard the battle offers
In closing of another chapter in history
the Church plans to retrieve their Holy Land
from the Muslim Turks they'll fight hand in hand
Pope Urban II leads the Crusade that led to tragedy
Children were used to touch hearts of stones
but it was the road for them to loose their soul and bones
There were nine crusades that were executed
but none of which did the land exalted
The effects are the weakening of feudalism
and the Church was shadowed with criticism
but it paved way for the innovation of agricultural technology
from conserving water to wind energy
The rise of the trade industry
strengthen the European economy
Fares are conducted by the feudal lords
traders are selling foods, arts, and swords
Truly, the Medieval Time will leave a trace
in history and in every human race
It became the cornerstone of the eras after
A foundation for another stone to be smoother
MEDIEVAL times ABC form
A beautiful castle donned exquisite flavours- Good, Hate. Inquisitive jesters kept lined
maps noting property. Queens ran street trade until various wild exploits yielded zen.
MEDIEVAL Times Acrostic form
Moats carve around the castle wall,
Ever challenging those who stop to call,
Dragons hide in the shadow tall,
Inside the passageways and the hall.
Every peasant gathers wood, at least a cord,
Valiant knights show off their shiny sword,
Always prepared to fight for their Lord,
Living well in the renaissance, few could afford.
MEDIEVAL Times Alliteration form
Smoke stops on the steep streets,
Huts hide the hallows,
Dark, dingy and dull,
Garbage graces the gutters,
Animals amber aimlessly.
Peasants plead poverty,
Knights know the kingdoms,
Castles coat the coast,
Crusaders catapult castles,
Armour adds to action,
Shields save souls,
Renaissance is really raw.
Written July 13, 2011
For the contest "Aye, aye & a Mistress"
Won 10th Place
Tell all the worlds about the treasures found
Renaissance trace spellbound in the ancient form,
Tender and haunting; an era of time curves around
Past the present to a future beset with tech charm.
Historical pages cling romantically to our eyes,
Each epoch defines a sparkling gem of surprise,
Their fluttered rebirth is like stars changing sizes
Release by time flown from the damp demise.
That dip their limbs to bow unto gloss modernity
Like the artist and sculpture, they paint a world.
Of aesthetic peculiarities and lofty discovery,
Longing to find a place soaring free in the soul.
A vault of citadels says much; then said no more
Deep within, ancient wonders rise from the ashes
Talented beauty weaves from centuries we adore,
The time and place asleep in a waste wilderness.
The plague of colors survives in medieval triumph,
England, a literary monument of architect literature.
Finds the noble heart to express cherished breath
Creating the etiquette claimed by French culture.
Such dept alone could not be paid by metamorphism
Humanism fading in a mist has its place in society,
Heightened with extreme lust and erotic mannerism,
Italy removes the conscious veil from bizarre reality.
Ceiling significant through music strings serenade,
Renaissance dazed; allusion lay dreaming half awake
The inquisition of fate went on pilgrimage made,
German sentence commute through the classical gate.
The Netherlands explore and navigate all the distances
Byzantine adherence goes beyond impregnable walls,
depict faces of the Tsars persist in the military hypothesis,
And labyrinths take refuge in Russian banqueting halls.
The richest measured proportion of distilled beverage,
Vodka values more than all the dull limited senses,
Spanish religion repository of the myths and rage
Set the path where new western experience commences.
Portugal selfie, the pinnacle piece that thirsts for commerce
Lisbon flourished paints and medicines with Flemish.
Poland concept and conflict gain border land dominance,
Spice trade rises high and makes indiscreet allusion flourish.
We travel far beyond renaissance to the greatest monument,
When the transition of culture from the middle age evolved
Mesmerized art is a rediscovery of an enduring cultural movement,
The monarch of the Roman Empire renaissance man inspired.
New season vegetables
simmered pork belly
with butter & suet crust
a buttery broth
clear jelly and cream
chestnuts and
Ale!
Guitar
Acoustic, Electric
Strumming, Resonating, Soloing
Modern, Popular, Antique, Anachronism
Plucking, Projecting, Accompanying
Medieval, Baroque
Lute
Murderous methods of medieval minds
Continue to pollute the political landscape of our planet
Vitriol nests in the hearts' of greedy politicians
Keep the common-folk ignorant
And poor
We shall rule
Goes the anthem of the ruling class
Corruption ensues
A common practice
Both in the developing world
And other lands
Year 2016
The common assumption was
That enlightenment was extrapolated
How wrong were we the enlightened
The light does not emit in linear rays
But bends and gets distorted liked fluid in a vortex
Our time will come again
Therefore, we shall protest
Until we reclaim what is left good of this planet.
I'll write to you of medieval ages,
Foreign lands,knights and of many sages.
Medieval verse,and versification
With ancient meter I shall imitate,
To flesh out this age's animation.
And stories fictional and real I'll tell.
The souls of sundry virtues and vices
I shall show to men of all kinds of eyes,
So that I their souls might excite to life.
Who truly is alive without his senses,
yet many minds live with mental fences.
The Gods were chased away from this bright land,
And many countries were drowned in darkness.
Art was unpainted,clogged up fairy wells.
Unlearning became the new science of man
And music deemed to be of Satan birthed
For its mirth, and carnal rhythmic pleasures.
Oh of truth this divine art of muses,
Music's mothers, the soul with beauty fuses,
Yet still were libraries burned to ashes,
and with timeless secrets the fool clashes.
Empires undone from within and out,
To be hewn down by hounds to war devout,
Who from savage forests came to devour
The sheep and the pampered puppies of Rome.
The Gods did pity these once great races,
the light torchbearers which the dark faces
with it’s all consuming flames of sheer might
which scorches into ashes scrap and dross,
to fuel its holy energy and fire,
the giver to mankind of life so sought.
[paraphrase of a Svan folksong]
I, I am Queen Tamar
I raised myself to Heaven
I dug up a barren mountain
I left only a deep hole
I put the sword to Constantinople
I drove them into the sea
I made their lands my lands.
The cold and drafty dark castle nights,
eating boars head like its going out of style,
having new battles every other week,
God forbid if you had a yellow streak,
Women wearing long gowns which were warm,
except for their exposed cleavage and throats,
it's no wonder they all didn't catch pneumonia,
while working their spinning wheels from their sofas,
And better not fall into their shark filled moat,
the chances of living being very remote,
and if by chance you missed the drawbridge going up,
if your a midget, don't try to jump for it,
Better you not disagree with the king,
or he'd tie you down to the pendulum swing,
or worse yet if you were on his enemy list,
he'd do a lot more than just have a hissy fit,
But for fun they'd all watch the jousting match,
seeing who would get spear tipped by the lance,
every weekend they'd lose yet another injured man,
the men only competing because they'd get a free ham,
Every once in a while the troubadour would come round,
trying to cheer them up by acting like a minstrel clown,
just barely making it there by the skin of his teeth,
pulling all the arrows out of his seat,
As for animal entertainment a man would have to be desperate,
thinking a ordinary bear would always just relent,
having the bear stand up and dance around to the din,
the bear obviously hungry devouring the mans limb,
Whereupon the plague arrived right out of the blue,
as if the medieval people didn't have enough worrying to do,
suspiciously thinking it arrived because of out of habit,
"a pox upon you!" was said for harassment.
11-12-16
I'm having some thoughts of the past.
Nobody has woken up amid night.
The seagulls replied with a steep scream.
Utterly hidden below heaps of stream.
Remembrances of a sad state of mind.
He was injured due to the singular of time.
On the verge of a social upheaval wind.
The agony of previous reviews of crime.
The action is still fresh in my memory.
Everlasting life is a state that is eternal.
That particular epoch has faded away.
The imply of a louder voice is not essential.
Do not squander time scouring for each other.
Springtime is one of their favorite seasons.
Please enable them to return to home forever?
And scents the delightful Michelangelo creations!
But things usually happen when I'm away.
Loneliness is all around me everywhere.
It pains me to reckon of the trips we had jointly.
The distance between the two places is prairie hare.
Is there anyone who can examine the mind?
I feel at ease as my pulse begins to slow.
A once-all-powerful genie who lost his aptitude
Servitude under rule through force of law!
We drew a picture of a dream.
We've all adopted an updated identity.
When will the sun bright again, for a fresh gleam?
Plants become sensory with time and worry.
Written: July 20, 2021
A BRIAN STRAND JULY 22 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Brian Stand