“You’ve come to fetch the maiden, then!”
The Goblin king did sneer, sir
“I wouldn’t, boy, if I were you
Even my own demons fear her.”
“No, not at all,” the lad replied;
“I’ve come to pledge my fealty
And bend the knee, and hope to buy
A bit of Goblin realty.”
And saying thus, the lad did bend
A knee, with bow most courtly
He must have saw the King perplexed,
For he ‘gan speaking shortly:
“Have you seen the world Up There?
‘Twas if some war-drums booming
Were eating up their rest at nights,
And all their minds consuming.
“It’s like their brains were burning-wild
All of them, of every station
Their maps say “DRAGONS EVERYWHERE”
That’s their sole navigation.
“No, O king, it’s come to pass
That I, my crown, renounce
They dig deep into misery,
And every end pronounce.
So let me fight your unlit wars,
And let me tend my garden
In a place where strangeness is commonplace,
And brains don’t tend to harden.”
The King said, “Prince, if your place true
Is here? Then by my side, do stay.
But I offer you this warning dire
(Though it hurts my pride to say):
“The upper lands hold the upper hand,
In battle, they are stronger
And they’ll soon think my side you’ve taken,
Should you stay here much longer.
If ever you to the surface go,
And you’re spotted, death is certain.
The Prince said, “I accept that risk;
Pull back your nightling curtain.
For rather I a rebel end,
In darkness unpredicted,
Then live where every move is judged,
And every breath constricted.
All Kingdoms have their failings,
And no Realm is perfection.
But at least here, you’re not insane by choice,
And I think that’s the right direction.
My name is Jeff Mach (“Dark Lord” is optional) and I build communities, put on events, and make stories come into being. I also tweet a lot over @darklordjournal.
