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Rachel Rothschild Poem
The Princess of Shalott
Inspired by The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse
Tucked in the overgrown forest
Deep in the woods lies a castle
Shaded by teeming pine trees.
There the princess seeks freedom
Tortured by lifeless brick towers
Rejecting the murky skies.
The princess had one visitor besides her captor.
The visitor who opened her corroded windows
and kissed her goodnight.
His skin felt rough and sturdy,
concealing the power beneath,
jaw framing thin firm lips.
His clothes habitually torn and worn,
But his mind was continually on the future,
of what he could become.
He always admired the princess,
as she had what he did not.
She could coax any being with her riches,
while radiating empathy and grace.
Midday, he scaled the tower by rope
to deliver his pressing message.
“Cometh, meet me on the boat outside
thine window tomorrow night.
I has't something important to showest thou.”
The princess arose from her gloomy daze,
emerging into reality. The thought of
venturing outside her home and betraying
her captor clouding her mind.
The visitor insisted, persisted.
She peered into his rich green eyes,
as he gently took her hand, smooth
as the silk of her white dress.
“I shall see you then, on the morrow,
when the sun breaks the mirror
of the wondrous lake.”
The last rays of light lingered
over the kingdom, yesterday melting
into a harrowing summer night.
The princess climbed down her tower
into the bitter dread of night,
treading then into the skiff.
So she waited,
as the three ivory candles were burned to gas,
his tapestry, heavy with black water
draped over the boat.
Her face stained with distress,
sweeping crimson locks enveloping her.
The desire of reuniting with him
rekindled every time her mind wandered
elsewhere.
Chilling the frost, wet and windy
Gripping her damp soul and body,
Distant she lies, naive newborn
Down in his vessel still
Waiting...
Copyright © Rachel Rothschild | Year Posted 2019
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