LUCY'S WAY
Once I was a
comely lad,
There- before my world went wild;
I took the wand; an oaken staff,
And set myself to darker paths-
Beguiled, in magic, mad.
Now my mind is
Bleak as bone,
I am lost
I stand alone.
Power at my order gleams,
Chants upon my clever tongue;
But blood is cold with winter chill,
As days in slow regret I fill,
Among my blighted dreams.
By my world now,
I am spurned;
It fears to know
What I have learned.
Maids in moonlight passing by,
Arm in arm while slippers brush
Through the grasses, voices low
Murmur gently as they go-
Then hush- they know not why.
Breath of starlight
Sigh for me;
Gentle wind
Blow wistfully.
Do they see me standing near?
In the shadows where they grow,
Dark as nightfall, here am I;
Standing watch as they go by,
As though – I am not here.
Birds of evening,
Speak for me;
Owls to boughs
Drift silently.
Curve of shoulder, plane of brow,
Swing of hem by swaying hips;
Sweep of shawl from shoulders broad,
Step by step, so, in accord;
Their lips are stilled somehow.
Crickets chirping
Sing for me!
Chant the song
Right heedlessly.
Watch the glamour fall away,
See their confidence return;
Laughter breaks in merry wave,
Stolid Earth may these enslave;
They turn not from their way.
Dews of mistfall
Weep for me;
In my sad
Futility.
Comes a maid along the brae,
In her solitude entranced,
Homespun caped; and apple faced,
Walking home, and not in haste,
Perchance, she'll look my way!
Leaves of autumn,
Burn for me!
In my spelled
Debility.
Now she pauses in her pace
By the moon's unholy light,
Tilts her head in greeting, wry,
"Good morrow, Will; the winter's nigh!"
So bright her bonnie face!
Tears of heaven
Cleansing me,
Of my craft's
Delinquency.
My frozen heart is beating hard
Does she fear me in the dark?
Sound my name in timid tone,
Hoping I'll leave her alone?
So stark is her regard.
Ice of dread is
Binding me,
In my life's
Sterility.
"Dark Will," she says in accents mild,
"I see you often standing there.
Would you walk our road again
Returning to the ways of men
Foreswear the magic, wild?"
Scent of hope comes
Over me,
So sweet with
Possibility!
And yet my wish cannot restore
The lad I was in olden days;
The years have left me hollow eyed
In magic's house I must abide;
In phase with life no more.
Light that beckoned
Fades apace,
As the shadows
I embrace.
The maid is smiling ruefully,
Her foot upon the cusp of youth;
"Dark Will, the price you're loath to pay;
But yours must be a lonely way-
In truth, you're needing me."
I stand amazed
So bonnie, she!
And yet she has a
Warmth for me!
Oh, can I take her as my own?
Could she break the fiery thrall?
Have I the right to happiness?
Would she fill my emptiness?
Can all my heart atone?
Maid of moonlight
Blessed be;
Lend me your
Tranquility.
Magic burns me in its flame,
I beg that she can understand,
So long have I been of the night
I swear I'll try to make it right;
I touch her hand – and soon I'll ask her name.
And I shall walk
Towards the day-
My foot is set
On Lucy's way.
Lucy's Way