The Lay of Princess Lune (VI)

THE MONSTER (lines 317 - 388).

This is the sixth instalment of the lay; here are the others, in case you missed one:

I. PROLOGUE

II. THE PRIEST

III. THE ICY WOOD

IV. THE CASTLE

V. THE MADMAN

(you are here)

FINALE

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PREVIOUSLY …

Over the rim of silver chalice,
The monster grinned with open malice.

His teeth were pointed, eyes gone red;
His face was pale, bloodless, dead.
In him there was an ageless ire;
A hunger that would never tire.

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Carcassonne (2025).

VI. THE MONSTER

'Now feel the lust within your veins,'
The monster laughed over his pain.
'And soon you'll understand, you'll see,
Just why the princess caged must be.'

The knight was weak; too weak to speak,
Trapped in a nightmare, not asleep.
The monster then did take his shroud,
And held it up and mused aloud,
'A boon, this was, to guard your way,
So filled with essence of decay.'
The monster tore it, strand from strand,
And let it fall then from his hand.

He lifted up the wretched knight;
At last, the monster showed his might,
And bore him swiftly up the stairs;
Up to the turret of his lair.

And by this time, the sting was dull;
The knight from pain received a lull,
And in its wake, arrived rapture;
A pleasure gripped his whole stature.

'So do you see?' the monster spoke.
'The joy that you came to revoke
Is far beyond your wildest dreams;
Your quest is null, it must now seem.
This kingdom is not cruelly held;
By pleasure, the old king was felled,
And all his people now enjoy
This rapture you came to destroy.'

They came at last to staircase end,
And to a balcony which lend
Them both a view of moonfey fair;
Of soft allure and silver hair.

'This kingdom lives but through her blood;
Without it, misery would flood
Throughout this land, and all would fall,
Which once was fair and bright and tall.
Our eyes would close in endless sleep
If I did not the princess keep.
So take a moment, think it through.
What noble thing should you now do?'

'I see,' the knight, at length, did say
As, in the wind, the cage did sway.

The princess turned and met his eyes.
'O Knight,' said she, 'heed not his lies.
The pleasure is his meanest trick;
I tell you, Sir, it makes you sick.
Joy has no pleasure in others' pain;
The pleasure then is but a feign.'

Her words were soft; her gaze did bring
Behind his eyes, a healthy sting.
The knight looked down, and far below,
The peoples' misery did show.
And looking down from that great height,
His stomach lurched; his head was light.
The knight sicked up, right then and there;
The poison left; he gasped for air.

The monster roared and threw the knight
Against the railing; then took flight.
His bat-like wings unfurled in rage
Just as he leapt towards the cage.

The knight recovered, drew his sword
And jumping, cried, 'Have mercy, Lord.'

He flew, wingless, through frigid night
And caught the monster in mid-flight.
His grip did close about the beast,
About his ankle at the least,
And lurching then the monster fell;
The knight did drag him down as well.

And as they fell, the knight did fight;
He stabbed the beast with all his might,
And once they struck the stone below,
No motion did their bodies show.

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Click here for the finale.

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