The Castle at Chermomor; or, The Troubador's Song, by F.F. Teague

The Castle at Chermomor, by Viktor Hartmann (UK) before 1873

The Castle at Chermomor; or, The Troubador's Song

The stone wall stands so tall, for a moment he sighs
and considers returning to town,
when a memory comes, of her beautiful eyes
and her figure so graceful in gown,
then he sees a firm foothold, determines to try
to make true on the promise he swore:
‘I shall sing to my Love of my love till I die,
then my spirit sing love evermore!’

He embarks on the climb, scales the uppermost heights,
and peers down into grand garden grounds,
lustrous lawns, beauteous blooms, clothed in moon’s languid lights,
and the guards on their stern midnight rounds,
but they do not glance up as they march swiftly by,
and he tunes to the flowery floor:
‘I shall sing to my Love of my love till I die,
then my spirit sing love evermore!’

He descends among lime limbs to crouch in long grass,
then steals slowly alongside box hedge,
as soft lavender lemon balm southerlies pass,
with the scent of the far sea and sedge,
then he hears distant waves breaking hungry and high
and he calls to the warrior roar:
‘I shall sing to my Love of my love till I die,
then my spirit sing love evermore!’

He approaches the tower door, made of oak beams,
yet ajar for his flight up the stairs
to her turret room, till now viewed only in dreams
but inspiring a thousand cantaires,
then he sings to his sweetheart until he is dry
and he whispers: ‘How I thee adore!
I shall sing to my Love of my love till I die,
then my spirit sing love evermore!’

F.F. Teague

F.F. Teague (Fliss) is a copyeditor/copywriter by day and a poet/composer come nightfall. She lives in Pittville, a suburb of Cheltenham (UK). Her poetry features regularly in the Spotlight of The HyperTexts; she has also been published by The Mighty, Snakeskin, The Ekphrastic Review, and a local Morris dancing group. Other interests include art, film, and photography.