The Barrel and the Maiden

In waters of an ocean wide
A barrel drifts, maiden inside
Condemned to die upon the sea
Although the crime in question, she
Did not commit, and so she sobs
While in the brine the barrel bobs

'Twas not so long ago, you see,
That joy was hers and she was free
But beauty and mirth are a seed
From which sprouts jealousy to breed
Its thorny tendrils aptly spread
And transmute soft hearts into lead

Alas, the maid, now cold and lone
Could not in any way have known
The bitter hatred bred by love
That one has not possession of
Her youth and innocence too strong
To let her know of bad and wrong

A cruel, scheming, loveless girl
(The daughter of a local earl)
Devised a plan to steal the boy
Who was the maiden's love and joy
She took a knife and slit the throat
Of an old man in a capote
And blamed it on the maiden fair
Whose heart was soon filled with despair

The judge, the earl, saw not the lies
And turned a deaf ear to her cries
They led her sobbing to the case
That was to be her dying place
The coffin of cold iron and oak
Was nailed shut and no one spoke

Their morbid cargo brought on board,
To a deserted spot they oared
A wasteland made of liquid glass
No hope of salvation, alas
The grim deed now accomplished, done,
The hapless captive left with none,
They sailed away in shadowed boats
And left her there, where now she floats

Categories: Poetry [t]

Hi randomjunk. What's wrong with Dilated's style of writing, EH? hehheh. I really like your poem. The meter is good, and the rhyme. Plus no one can resist a good story of wrongful accusation and torture and death of the innocent. And plus, it makes you wonder what happened to the young man? Did he pine away for his lost love? Did he marry the daughter of the Earl? Did he take to a rowboat, searching the sea when he found out about the trick, haplessly looking for the barrel until salt, exposure and hopelessness took him to the bottom of the sea as well?!?!!?!? WE DON'T KNOW! BRILLIANT! I also like the word "transmuted". More poetry, s'il vous plait.
» Zanzibar on 2008-01-19 09:24:58

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