Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Maid Katharine's Movable Medieval feast...





















At the head of the table sits the king
at the distant other end sits his queen;
Wooden goblets overflow with fine wine
Guests in high back velvet chairs sit between

Servants set the table sparsely with forks,
shiny carving knives, soup bowls and ladle
Lads in festive garb carry huge platters
overhead of fruit, figs, nut meats hazel

Straight from the fire comes fresh game, venison,
pork, beef, sweetbreads, succulent roast pheasant
From the kitchen, cheese curd, pickled herring
delicate quail eggs, simmered turtle soup

Plum pudding and apple-quince pie prepared
for the sake of celebration and mirth
Robust arms wrestle for drumsticks and legs,
tossing, discarding aside bones with dearth

Ladies forget dainty table manners -
while servants keep a continuous run
Triumphant toasts are raised all around, some
prefer to pass just jugs of homemade rum

Jesters and mimes perform with great aplomb;
Human targets stand in the forest trees;
doing all they can to remain quite calm
arrows fly at the greatest of speed

Quite serious moves are contemplated
in a mean game of chess or jousting a man
from his horse, landing him in a puddle
Full-bellied men, flushed ladies loll in rattan

Women untie their girdles, unleash their
bosoms to breathe; drunk young men trail maidens
into the woods playing games, in search of
greener fields, of beds yet undiscovered                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Plenty of gluttony and sloth, needless
to say; truth be told, much baring of souls
with loud incongruous soliloquies ...
Some dance on tables, become total fools

No business is considered at this time,
no property exchanged, new laws made
Frankincense circles the encampment there                                                                                    
not far from the castle's high stone walls

Days of Robin Hood and his band of men
shared life together in Sherwood Forest
They dared robbing the ladies of their jewels,
the men their purses, for the poor, of course.

I remember the earliest version
romanticized in Hollywood, of Maid
Marian, flowers in her tresses, Big
Little John, Friar Tuck and followers

Oft I wonder if the story was true,
The legend reminds me of fiscal today
and the 99%, versus a few
Parallels are clearly evident of
this form of selfish indulgence
Modern man's precedent was set back then
when people followed blindly a pied piper
It's our responsibility to unleash
kindness's full power and to reverse the 
debauchery
... and stop playing games like -
pin the tail on the donkey..


                                                                                                                                                    
We are transitioning this week over at the Poetics web-site called  dversepoets.com  The changing of the guard does not mean people are leaving, but rather re organizing and and re-energizing the place.  Still there will be poems posted 3 times a week with some surprises thrown in.  In celebration we are having a joust of sorts -coming together for a banquet of poetry all about Med-evil society.  Have fun reading and hop over to read a bit.
dVerse

13 comments:

  1. smiles...I was enjoying all the detail of your scene...rich indeed...
    I have always had a thing for the life of robin hood...for his merits
    especially to the common man...there was a bit of a gulf between
    the rich a nd poor...I guess there still is....

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    1. I tagged you in as well....you left a comment but not the link...smiles.

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    2. Thank you, Brian, I completely forgot..;)

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  2. Oh what a party.. and all that gluttony.. would now be replaced by designer clothes and Kobe beef... but still there are those that think they can just take. Just take..

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  3. probably it's time for a modern robin hood as this gap between rich and poor seems to get bigger and bigger
    love all the details - the food - oy - and ugh on the living targets... they had a weird sense of humor a bit back then...

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  4. I have always been fascinated with Robin Hood as he tried
    to even the scales for the poor. The imagery really brought
    the piece to life.

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  5. I admired the tale of robin hood... giving to poor, evening the score... but yikes - I wouldn't wanna be the human target. And chasing the women into the woods for flesh wouldn't be fun either with all those sticks and sharp rocks on the ground... hahah

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  6. This made me hungry with all the food and I do admire Robin Hood's ideals ~ I really hope its true too ~ Good to see you K ~

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  7. Loved this and the way you brought it around to today. Here is a cool link you might enjoy - http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/robin-hood

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  8. What a banquet you have described, Kathy! This is exactly how they are shown in movies, isn't it? Great sketch of a medieval jester!

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  9. You have definitely set a 'fine table' in your poem, Kathy... And, as far as Robin Hood goes, he was always one of my childhood heroes. The neighborhood kids would play Robin Hood and his Merry Men in the woods behind a shopping center. Parents would never let their kids go alone to a place like that today!

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  10. Yes.. per INfamous poet.. Aleister Crowley.. sadly misunderstood and reviled rather than revered.. in the LARGER public eye.. as we know the hidden meanings in poetry are not for all.. in his poetic expression in his the Novel "Moonchild".. when Kings become tyrants it is the rebels like Robin Hood that we look to as saviors and not thief's..:) and in that way.. Poet Crowley is Robin Hood too.. with immeasurable success for those who find his poetic expressions.. who have eyes to uncover secrets in deeper metaphors of words..instead of black and white literal speak....:)

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  11. George Carlin put it as, the owners... and there have always been them, and then the rest of us... ~

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All comments, constructive and otherwise, are welcome and appreciated here. Thank you to those who show an interest in my quirky style of writing, photography, painting, and presenting a feeling or thought and for stopping by A Dwelling by the Sea..