Castle
Soaring above
city streets old and new
Magnificent monumental
Stronghold
Goodbye, Prince Philip, husband of the Queen, age ninety-nine.
Thank you, for giving up prince hood from Greek and Danish lines.
Thank you, Royal Navyman, for setting prisoners free;
thanks for wildlife protection and awards as D of E.
January 13, 2022
Contest A Celebrity Epitaph
Sponsor Michelle Faulkner
He was a patient Prince Philip.
Arthur's seat sits hidden by the cloak of night, his head up in the clouds.
Princes Street lies empty, no royals, no life, no crowds.
Nelson stands neglected, having made a monumental mistake.
Charlottes' going square without new books to articulate.
St Giles has closed his doors to weary pilgrim seeking refuge.
The Palace has lost its money, its reputation, its gold.
Up at the castle, the one o clock gun,
sounds to mourn Edinburgh's loss.
For all I hear, tonight and every night,
is the pitter patter of the rain.
It marks the tears of old Edinburgh town wondering,
will I be loved again?
Where be the Scottish man in kilt with bagpipe sash?
Or corner street drunken birthday bash?
Edinburgh weaps the soil untrodden,
those lost of late shan't be forgotten.
May we once more run wild with glee,
old Edinburgh town, the land of the free.
5.15.21
Folklore drifts
past cobblestone
like ash.
Along High street,
I traipse through secrets,
foraging
ghosts in
Castle Rock’s
slate gaze.
I stir up
ancestors
to warm my spirit
as an Auld Reekie dawn
bares
its dented armor.
The children went there once again
With food for those dismayed
They watched as love relieved their lot
And listened as they prayed
For these were simple country folk
Who raised the Bishop's ire
By spurning worship run amok
For hillside faith and fire.
Their preachers would not take the oath
No other shepherds matched
Now hunted by cruel men on horse
And to the wilds dispatched
The birds and sheep would share their psalms
And hear of faith hard tried
Now kirk-yard locked them up in shame
And starved them as they cried.
And hierarchy called the bunch
Crude radicals to tame
And strained at gnats while having lunch
Besmirching Jesus' name.
So let the children break the rules
With mercy in their bread
And learn from martyrs tried like gold
The Hope of Spirit-led.
https://issuu.com/deedub51/docs/looking_to_the_shepherd
Cold spots and disembodied voices
echo in the ancient castle as shadows
come from out of nowhere, soldiers in
armor, ladies in waiting well and but
then they disappear almost as they
appear oh don't you know living in
EDINBURGH CASTLE can be
a living nightmare...
They say the only thing you have to
fear is fear it's self well but I guess
they never spent one night at
EDINBURGH CASTLE if they
had they wouldn't say that I'm sure
for Heaven's sake I knew there was
something evil and sinister here the
moment I walked through the iron
gates of EDINBURGH CASTLE...
Well the hair on the back of my neck
stood straight up feeling the cold, cold
breath of something not of this world
on my skin, well I swear if there's any
portal to Hell it's gotta be it's gotta be
this castle if there is any, it’s gotta be
EDINBURGH CASTLE...
And the feeling of delirium is enough
to drive you outta of your mind even for
a short time, living at EDINBURGH
CASTLE is like living in a nightmare
I swear it can be your worst nightmare
oh but no they will not let you leave
once you get there, once you walk through
those big, big doors of EDINBURGH
CASTLE, EDINBURGH CASTLE!
BASS ROCK NEAR EDINBURGH
My child’s eye saw the graceful sea
A limitless ocean of waves
Of power immeasurable
Adapted only to the curve of horizon
Free to move at will around the globe
Accommodating no man
God like.
Till I saw the Bass Rock jutting its rebel head out of the Forth
A far-off piece of the seafloor
Just ordinary rock on display - for all to see
The ocean’s feet of clay.
And the fathomless tract of sea that day
Lost its mystery, its infinite dimension,
Fell from grace.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Notes
Bass Rock is a tiny island edged with high steep cliffs a few miles offshore
in the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh in Scotland. It is not famed for
its beauty but is rather a dark intrusion into the beautiful view over the firth.
She was in her prime,
her slender body
is still intact, no wounds but
her mouth.
It is open and her teeth
are red – red and jagged,
like an impaler’s spikes
on which many a tiny creature
has squeaked its last.
Blunt grey eyes stare ahead
still, not comprehending,
but blindly aware of something.
Perhaps someone should move her,
throw her into a dustbin
or into someone’s garden.
The unheeding traffic
has completed its task
and sweeps blindly past.
– 2 –
Here lies McPuss,
hit by a bus.
Requiescat in pace.
The clouds are drifting away
with the seagulls' fading shadows.
Bach's music, a deep step to eternity.
Abandoned I,
a deep stroke to my heart,
when you left.
A wide step to infinity.
Un jour triste por le voyager.
How is it possible that one day
could pass even quicker
than an entire year?
To meet you, was it accidently,
was it just luck or perhaps destiny?
Now Edinburgh remains grey again
without you.
And colours washed out in the rain.
Princess Street remains dark
and in shadows.
Only my thoughts are with you,
freed from a desolate enclosure.
I myself feel like a cloud,
drifting away with the wind
and into the sea
Tonight I walked across
the abandoned silent city.
A fading moon was pushing
fast moving clouds over dark roofs,
over Edinburgh Castle,
the dark castle,
with gleaming eyes
to penetrate the shadows.
I hear myself walking,
echoes from silent walls
and cobbled pavement.
But you were with me in my thoughts,
a graceful light and entering the darkness.
I saw your smile through hidden moonlight.
The clouds gave me your kisses.
Tonight you were so close
and I felt not alone.
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