This poem was kind of a fly in my ear when I went to bed last night, and this morning I decided to write it down. It's the story of Ramandu's daughter, of her life watching the far west and how she met and married Caspian, told through her eyes. It's kind of a summary of the first four Narnia books. Not actually owning three of those books, however, might have influenced the canonical merit of this piece. Forgive me.
The rhyme scheme and pacing were borrowed from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Skeleton in Armor," one of my favorite poems by him.
Safe in my palace bright,
Deep in the boundless night
I was a princess there,
Ramandu's Daughter
Until my father fell
And we were left to dwell
On this our island home
Over the water.
-
We watched the world of beasts
Safe at their boundless feasts
Until Queen Jadis came
Taking their birthright
She locked their world in ice
She, queen of naught but vice
Ruled in the west until
Fate solved their plight
-
Then from the world of men
Came by four children
And they smote down the witch
Broke down her power
They were crowned kings and queens
And ruled their demesnes
From the high castle there,
Paravel's Tower.
-
But when they took their leave
And went to rule and reeve
Their lands beyond the door
Past magic portals
Men came from distant lands
Bearing their arms in hands
They ruled in Narnia then
Though they were mortals
-
I watched them many years
Saw all their trials and tears
Till a man killed a man-
He was his brother!
I watched a child then
Fairer than many men
Orphan endangered now,
None for his mother.
-
Caspian was his name-
He rose in life and fame
Bringing the children back
By the horn's sounding
They killed the traitor black
Bringing the old ways back.
He took his father's throne:
Joy was rebounding!
-
Oh, he was fairer now
Then when I saw him row
With the hand life had dealt
Him as a child
He was a goodly king
His praise the people sing
Peaceful at home and hearth,
Brave in the wild.
-
He came by wind and wave
Breaking a path to save
His father's vassals true
Bring them to serve him
And when he landed here
On this our island dear
We counseled him to sail
To the world's rim
-
He sailed away, and then-
Oh, for the hearts of men!
Mine was a sadder part
My heart was broken
So from my palace fair
Crafted from gilded air
I sent a lover's sign,
Gave him a token.
-
He then came back for me
Over the sounding sea
Took me away from there,
Ramandu's daughter
I was to be his queen
Fairer then ever seen
In any land of his
Over the water.
-
Time took my sorrows down
After I took his crown
There we ruled many years-
I was a mother!
My son was all my heart
Never would I depart
From his small cradle-bed
For any other.
-
Alas, too quick for me
Was the green snake, you see
She bit my skin and then
Gave me my sending
Ah, then my life was spent
With the bright serpent's rent
And I would wait in death
Till the world's ending.
-
My son, my Rilian
Fairer than many men
Sought out to kill the snake
Through the green myrtle
Leaving his son behind
For revenge is unkind
He was tricked to her door
Lady Green Kirtle.
-
She bound him in her chair
Crafted of silver fair
Left him to suffer
Alone in his madness
But then the children came
Not of the olden fame
They broke her magic and
Unbound my gladness!
-
He returned to his home
Next to the flashing foam
To his young wife and child
Ten years a stranger!
His father, my love dear
Was overjoyed to hear
That his son was returned,
No more a ranger.
-
He died, my golden king
And the bells loudly sing
Of the great deeds he did
Peerless in glory!
He joined me in the ground
And peace and quiet found.
Finally happy now
Thus ends my story.