Elopement of the Muse

I lost my Muse, but I kept the chain,
The chain which bound her well.
And now these words are mine, not hers;
I suspect that you can sense it,

the rhyme is broken,
the meter, not simply tricky,
but complex until it collapses on itself,
the syllables bearing no resemblance to the stresses,

all the elements of language, spoken for naught,
because the Muse is missing.
She’s got un-caught.

Muse, return, my mind to enflame;
I’ll loose your bonds,
and learn your name.

I swear. I promise. I’d say it better.
But without you, I fear almost eveyr letter.

My lesson’s learned, and I’ll be glad to teach
If you, sweet Muse, I can merely reach.

Come back; for you I’ll build
A palace and a library and a Muse’s Guild.
I’ll never again abuse a Muse…
Neither for pleasure, nor literary use.

Come back, I swear
And I’ll beware:
Treat your Muse right
Or she’ll treat you fair.