The Grebel Poets
Lilybell
By: Samantha Mills The stars were scattered grains of sand, across the velvet sky, The wind was a midnight phantom, breathing a silent sigh, The river was painted silver by Luna’s gentle kiss, The village slept in the tangles of sweet and dreamy bliss. And down the shinning silver street, two laughing shadows ran, They darted, quick as humming birds, lurking hand in hand They hid least any should see them, for the whole town knew them well, Knew them as the bagger Ash and the lord’s sweet Lilybell. Poor Ash, the town’s beloved bagger, handsome, charming and gay, As rich as mice, as free as birds and merry either way. The lord’s fair-haired daughter, trailing loyally behind Her smiling eyes and golden hair and moonlight intertwined. His bare feet crunching gravel, her green dress billowing round, They made their way towards the wood without a louder sound. The town all feared the forest, and its lurking friendless Fey The two scoffed at the stories and wanted to hide away. The woods enclosed the village, crawling up the mountains high Shuddering leaves, twisting twigs, all reaching to the sky, Thick trunks held close together, dressed with a shadow’s touch Between the leaves they whispered secrets, they love so much. The pair approached the forest; the trees all seemed to swell With pride to meet the reckless lovers, Ash and Lilybell And running over mossy turf, both drunk with fear and glee They spun beneath leaf-tangled stars and laughed in revere. They came upon a laughing brook, wrinkled through with stones And shaded by the hanging willows, sighing mournful tones “Let’s rest awhile here,” said Ash, his eyes beginning to close And laid himself besides the bank as the moon above them rose Poor girl, she could not wake him, not with shaking nor with screams Ash slept as if death held him, a prisoner of his dreams. Dismayed, she say there wondering exactly what to do, The darkness grinned around her, inside her unease grew. Her eyes grew wide in terror as the shadows took on skin With angles sly and piercing eyes and hungry wolfish grin. A young lord stood before her, the princeling of the Fey With raven hair and marble skin, as calm as summer’s day The shadows were all around her then, swallowing her whole They tangled in her hair and eyes, as quick as lightning stole The girl away with thrashing screams from that quiet glade And left poor Ash, still sleeping sound with the willow’s shade. When last the shadows left her, she found herself alone The trees to her were strangers, enclosed by a ring of stones The Princeling stood before her, eyes glinting bites of jade Black raven feathers stirred in his clothes from bowing to the maid. “Be welcomed her, dear little child, by beauty I am bound.” He waved his hand and fireflies formed nearly in a crown And settled there upon her brow, sweat coated to a sheen “Now that you’re fit to play the part, stay here and be my queen.” |
She thought of Ash, asleep, alone, exposed to the forest’s night And how her town would miss her so, upon the morning’s light And so she gave her answer, shy and timid “no” The princeling’s eyes did flash in fury, fading his repose. “You may not leave this circle dear, least you should face my curse, my folk delight in wicked things, leave here and face the worst.” All this he said while smiling a cheerful child’s grin And yet his eyes were eaten up in darkness from within His silky words they seemed to cut her as deep as any knife And in her heard she knew at once, she’d never be his wife. And turning heel on Fey’s dear prince, she ran with all her might “With you and live a thousand years? I’d rather die tonight!” She leapt the ring of stones, just then, no heed of warnings called As nimble stepped as any deer, fresh lost to fear’s enthrall Her golden hair waved in the starlight, rich as summer wheat Her dark eyes blazed like fire whilst she ran with winged feet She thought of Ash, her darling Ash and she had to find a way To find him in this forest, see to it he got away. “It matter’s not my fate,” said she, “ If only Ash can live To see the sun, to laugh at stars, my life for his I’ll give.” She ran until the sky turned grey from fast approaching dawn The shadows bulged with nightmares, fearing Fey were long from gone Her legs began to weaken so, her sigh began to fade The curse had come upon her as she stumbled ‘pon the glade. And there was Ash, alive and sleeping in a patch of sun While over head the willows swayed to bid the day’s begun Her eyes they watered steadily to tumble down her face To see her darling sleeping so in such a lovely place. She waded cross the river, then toppled to her knees For all her strength had faded ‘way, so weakly did she plead “My Ash, my Ash, wake up, it’s me, your darling Lilybell.” Her fingers close to touching him, when with a sigh she fell Down by his side did she collapse, the light gone from her eyes While birds did circle overhead to give their lazy cries Her skin it turned to dark brown earth and crumbling away Her dress it sprouted fresh green grass and in the breeze it swayed. But by the place her head had been such lovely flowers rose Sweet lilies and charming bluebells, dressed with the finest clothes And by their scent did Ash awake and gave a fitful yawn. And blinking gazed about him and saw his lover gone. “My Lily-Billy, hast thou gone? Why have you run away? Don’t hide from me, my darling Lil, at least, my mercy, say Say what I’ve done and I’ll amend; you are my starts above See here, I’ll pick for you these flowers, tokens of my love.” And taking up his lily flowers, stumbling away He called for her, deep in the forest, playground of the Fey. In quiet nights, the little town, can here him calling still He’s searching, always searching, for his darling little Lil. |
Lonely Hearts Club
By: Anonymous
Lead pumping in my veins,
Poisoning my mind, hard to breathe,
Icy in my spine, dizzy, feeling sick,
Pain churning hate, fury starts to seethe.
Thoughts unspool like a ball of yarn,
Tumbling, tearing, snagging, on a hill
Made of the lies and broken trust
I turn my back on.
Face the world with a smile, as the hill grows behind,
Only falter in a landslide, only break in an avalanche,
Watch with false expressions, the lead pumping heart ripped out
And feel for it, understand it, empathize with it,
Because only I will.
Scrutinize the mirror
Lense after wretched lense
Looking for the flaw
The reason
The cause
Why.
I am alone
Heart buried beneath the hill,
Did I or did they?
Neither cares, for it is there
Beneath the lies, that my heart resides
It is there that they cannot see it, cannot know it is being crushed beneath the weight
And they add to the pile
And they add
And they add.
Maybe they’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a heart
Just keep smiling
Poisoning my mind, hard to breathe,
Icy in my spine, dizzy, feeling sick,
Pain churning hate, fury starts to seethe.
Thoughts unspool like a ball of yarn,
Tumbling, tearing, snagging, on a hill
Made of the lies and broken trust
I turn my back on.
Face the world with a smile, as the hill grows behind,
Only falter in a landslide, only break in an avalanche,
Watch with false expressions, the lead pumping heart ripped out
And feel for it, understand it, empathize with it,
Because only I will.
Scrutinize the mirror
Lense after wretched lense
Looking for the flaw
The reason
The cause
Why.
I am alone
Heart buried beneath the hill,
Did I or did they?
Neither cares, for it is there
Beneath the lies, that my heart resides
It is there that they cannot see it, cannot know it is being crushed beneath the weight
And they add to the pile
And they add
And they add.
Maybe they’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a heart
Just keep smiling