The Merchant’s Girl: A Lament
By Cara E., Alexandria, VA
Now ye behold
The tale of old
That made our elders cry.
The story of
Two faithful loves
That made two heroes die.
The merchant’s girl
Had skin of pearls
And glowing sapphire eyes.
She walked with grace;
Unto her face
The crowd gave many sighs.
With ivory skin
Like all her kin
And silver locks of hair,
The merchant old
And full of gold
Would need a son for her.
His daughter’s friends
Were all good men
But had no common sense,
The man to claim
His daughter’s name
Could never be so dense.
He searched up high
He looked down low,
But ‘twas a useless act,
“No man can serve
What she deserves!”
It was a sad’ning fact.
The merchant sighed
And might’ve cried
Had it not been for he,
A solid lad
And armor clad
Gave the merchant his plea.
The wedding was
Impressive ‘cause
The merchant had much to spend.
With his girl gone
He settled on
A place to live ‘til end.
The lad’s new wife
Soon brought new life
But soon the danger came,
The lad, a knight,
Would have to fight
To earn money for his dame.
With heavy heart
He did depart
Leaving wife and child new,
Whilst he was gone
They both moved on
And the child grew and grew.
Three long years passed
Before, at last,
The lad (now man) came back,
His love and he
Lived happily
Until the big attack.
Off again he
Left family
And joined the Callekay side,
But he, time this,
Ceased to exist
That is, to say, he died.
But wait, not yet!
The prequel’s set,
But the story begins now, alone;
A child now grows,
And finally goes,
To fetch a wife of his own.
A sailor he finds,
...A sailor of kinds...
‘Tis simply a pirate, ‘tis sure.
He joined their plight,
He’d steal and he’d fight,
To get riches and spices and fur.
On ship he met
Lovely Claudette
A pirate of feminine sorts,
Her soft brown eyes,
He soon realized,
Were his favorite of orbs.
Kidnapped, she was.
He races, and does
Nearly rescue Claudette,
Pirate or not
None could’ve fought
A hundred surly opponents.
A good pirate
(One like Claudette)
Would never rescue another,
Now alone, old,
Lonely and cold
Widower and once a mother;
The merchant’s girl
Once skin of pearl,
Was now beauty-lost and frail.
Her heart still pure
She wasn’t sure
she wanted her life to prevail.
Once contented,
Now lamented,
The merchant’s girl is gone.
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