A love ballad sung by a troubadour in a story set in ancient Persia. |
This poem was written as a ballad sung by a troubadour in my story "The Book of Vashti" (a work in progress) which is based on the Biblical "Book of Esther" and set in ancient Persia. Korshed's Tale My love is like a pomegranate High upon a tree By day she is a luscious fruit Protected by her scarlet coat She ripens just for me. By night she is a princess, tan Dressed in a ruby gown But one night came a demon man Who grasped her in his fiendish hand And plucked my Gulnar* down. He carried her into his lair And laid his head upon her lap While he slept she stroked his hair She sang to him in sweet despair Her tears caressed him as he napped. At morn I saw my darling lost. "Where is my Gulnar," I cried out My heart beat fiercely in my breast. 'Til she is saved I will not rest Until I kill that evil lout". Up rocky mount, o'er arid dell I trudged through near and foreign parts At last I found the fetid well where Gulnar's wicked demon dwelt. I thrust my sword into his heart. Back home, I take my Gulnar sweet and 'neath the pomegranate tree we hold each other in the night and taste the fruit of love's delight Oh jewel of all ecstasy. *Gulnar: Persian for pomegranate flower and a woman's name |