Elegy for Gilchrist, Lord of Dogs

Maister Colyne Stewart, October AS 52 (2017)

Oh, lean of leg, the gallant canine stands

His hazel eyes regard ducal estate

The grand demesne of sky, and lake, and land,

Belov’d by all, and yet life cannot wait,

A call to pass beyond mere mortal gate,

He gentle licks soft hands with kindly sigh,

Lo, unafraid he goes to meet his fate,

And now the stars fair twinkle, like his eye.

A wolf runs free

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, March AS 50 (2016)

A northern wolf runs where it will,

The wolf runs free, the wolf runs wild,

It lopes past tree and up high hill,

And fights whenever it is riled.

A wolf will not be caged or held

As by the moon it is compelled

And like the wolf the people are

So fierce and proud, so bold and preaux,

From Ealdormere we travel far

And walk the lands our elders knew.

No bended knee, no kneelers we,

The northern wolf is always free.

Written using the Venus and Adonis stanza form. This stanza form, invented by Shakespeare, used six lines written in iambic pentameter and rhymed ababcc. The form takes its name from the poem where Shakespeare introduced it, Venus and Adonis (1593).

Ode to my Leg (Lost at Pikeman’s in AS 50)

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, June AS 50 (2015)

So sturdy, strong, a trunk my thew, sweet leg,

That takes me into battle’s brutal fray,

Encased in leather, and secured with peg,

And moves me into shieldwall ‘fore my prey.

At marshal’s call my line does fast advance,

A foe-man bold assaults against our might,

My shield-mate, vig’rous, clad in steel and brass,

Doth swing a mighty stroke with broken lance,

Misses foe-man, I feel sharp edge bite,

And find my lost leg lying in the grass.

For Korigan and Helen upon the Occasion of their Wedding

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, May AS 50 (2015)

When love binds hearts and friend to friend are one,

And vows are said and seen by kith and kin,

With hands tied fast beneath officiant’s grin,

Then love o’er hate the day has brightly won.

With vow to spouse, daughter proud, and son,

The lovers stand united midst glad din,

And on the floor they gleeful, playful, spin;

So sweet the kiss that can not be undone.

Written as an English octave. In English, an octave consists of 8-lines of iambic pentameter (while in Italian would be hendecasyllabic). The most common rhyme scheme for an octave was abba abba, which is what I used here.

The first line of the second stanza refers to the fact that Korigan and Helen did not just make vows to each other, but also to their children, making them part of the proceedings and further binding them together as a family. It was very touching.

Crossings

Also for Mahault

By THLaird Colyne Stewart

The pillars of the grandest house are built,

By deeds both great and small the bricks are laid,

And with hard work the walls and floors are gilt,

With blood and sweat the mighty mansion’s made.

The mason is Abundantia on earth,

Her toils in both hall and field are great,

Long laboured maiden held in deepest worth,

Who does not fear the fight with fickle fate.

Clementia forgive her forthright voice,

Which rises in defense of those struck mute,

To honest live, herself to be, her choice,

Who can then dare to bold denounce her route?

So do I grace her gifting words I penned,

To sister, mentor, and my closest friend.

A Shakespearean sonnet.