A Cage To Hold My Dreams
Marian's Lament For Robin
Where can'st thou be, man of my heart
My dearest love, where art thou now ?
And every night that we're apart
I've pray and wonder where art thou ?
Were I a poet of ancient time
Or scholar penning words to read
I might express myself in rhyme
And not in tears which serve no need
To me thou art a love more true
Than any love I ever gave
And no more could I love anew
Than wish thee lowered in thy grave
Nor could I seek to catch the eye
Of any man, whome'er he be
Not even on the day I die
Shall my love then subside for thee
I am, some say, a lady bred
To sheltered ways and manners fine
And truth be told, the life I've led
Has been constrained and most refined
I've dined with lords and men of worth
Of whom some sought to win my hand
But not one man of noble birth
Hath half the grace at thy command
But strange, I did not see, at first
The sculptured beauty of thy face
And like a fool, believed the worst
When rumours spread of thy disgrace
Thou wert an outlaw I was told
A thieving rogue who roamed at will
And travellers with a grain of gold
In Sherwood thou would'st stop and kill
Thou put'st those woodlands out-of-bounds
For honest folk to take their ease
No more could men with horse-and-hounds
Engage in sport between the trees
No more could ladies while away
Their sunlit hours in gay pursuits
For fear that thieves in waiting lay
To steal their jewels and slit their throats
But, Robin, thou did'st did not defend
Thine actions, nor yet once make clear
That Sherwood was for honest men
A place of sanctuary, not of fear
'Twas not until that wond'rous day
When I rode through with Lady Vine
Thou took'st our reins and bade us stay
To speak with thee and take some win
And as I gazed, from each direction
Yeomen with their frightened wives
Forswore that but for thy protection
They would surely lose their lives
In Sherwood, they could safely hide
When foul aggressors seized their lands
Some were hanged, and others died
In torture, wrought by evil hands
But those embraced within thy care
Inside that green and leafy glade
Encountered friendship that is rare
And sanctu'ry none could violate
When sufferings of the ordinary man
Shamed those upon whom they'd been put
Thou could'st no longer idly stand
And see them trampled underfoot
I watched thee champion the oppressed
Feed starving children milk and bread
Give shelter to the dispossessed
And hope, from whence all hope had fled
I watched thee kill the sheriff's deer
And roast it o'ver a roaring flame
Whilst starving families crowded near
To eat and bless from whence it came
The sun beam'd down its glorious eye
And prurient passion swelled my heart
That thrilling woodland day when I
First saw thee as the man thou art.
Thy face, to me the finest art
Which canvas ne'er displayed more fine
Alone, not knowing where thou art
I wonder could each sound be thine
Was there a face or form more fair
Than thee, whose love o'erwhelms me so
And for one lock of thy dark hair
I would to hell most gladly go
Was e'er a man by woman birth'd
More steadfast in defence of good
Against the villain, ever first
To draw thy sword, bold Robin Hood
But, lo ! One time, perchance, too late
Thou seest the thrusting varlet's blade
Could fear I dared not contemplate
Become the awful truth instead
And deep inside my fretful mind
I pray, dear Lord, it must not be
That I shall wake ere long to find
My truest love is ta'en from me
Oh, heavy do my footsteps weigh
Uphill the rocky path I tread
Could I endure another day
Should it be proved that thou art dead
Mine eyes and memory try to be
Supportive of the sights I'd choose
And what these eyes no longer see
This memory paints in vivid hues
No sweeter time can e'er be found
Than when two lovers merge as one
But nought's more bloody than the wound
Left open when that love has gone
The pleasures felt when love awakens
Are settled at enormous cost
When one or other love is taken
And one or other life is lost
The hour-glass measures minutes passed
The sands of time fall one-by-one
Perfection, destined not to last,
Will sparkle briefly, then begone.
Sunflowers quickly pass their prime
And every day yields fresh surprises
The end is never far, for time
Is friend and foe in different guises
The scented rose we can but hold
Scarce longer than it took to grow it
Today brand new, tomorrow old
Departed, gone, before we know it
Morning birdsong never lingers
As we wake, it fades then stops
Pleasures slip between our fingers
One by one, like water-drops
An end awaits all things begun
As morning clips the heels of night
But in my darkest hour, dear one,
Rememb'rance burns, forever bright
O love, how sweet thou wert to know
When first I felt thy gentle touch
How stealthily the hand of woe
Now sours a heart that loved too much
If time, my love, hath stopped for thee
And raging tides stand paralysed
I'd care not if beneath the sea
This land should sink before mine eyes
I'll care not that tomorrow's sun
Will darken over as it must
As this ruined heart, when thou art gone
Shall perish by a sabre-thrust
Now weary of the world, I gaze
Above the clouds, beyond the sun
And think perhaps that golden haze
Might be thy heaven I gaze upon.
In God's dominion of the sky
No place was better earned than thine
None more deserves to stand head-high
Among the chosen, love of mine.
In time the common earth shall hold
My bones like thine, and none shall fret
But of thee, stories will be told
That no-one can, or shall, forget
The day I'm summoned to my death
I'll kiss that long-awaited call
Thou knowest till my dying breath
My love for thee transendeth all
My dearest love, where art thou now ?
And every night that we're apart
I've pray and wonder where art thou ?
Were I a poet of ancient time
Or scholar penning words to read
I might express myself in rhyme
And not in tears which serve no need
To me thou art a love more true
Than any love I ever gave
And no more could I love anew
Than wish thee lowered in thy grave
Nor could I seek to catch the eye
Of any man, whome'er he be
Not even on the day I die
Shall my love then subside for thee
I am, some say, a lady bred
To sheltered ways and manners fine
And truth be told, the life I've led
Has been constrained and most refined
I've dined with lords and men of worth
Of whom some sought to win my hand
But not one man of noble birth
Hath half the grace at thy command
But strange, I did not see, at first
The sculptured beauty of thy face
And like a fool, believed the worst
When rumours spread of thy disgrace
Thou wert an outlaw I was told
A thieving rogue who roamed at will
And travellers with a grain of gold
In Sherwood thou would'st stop and kill
Thou put'st those woodlands out-of-bounds
For honest folk to take their ease
No more could men with horse-and-hounds
Engage in sport between the trees
No more could ladies while away
Their sunlit hours in gay pursuits
For fear that thieves in waiting lay
To steal their jewels and slit their throats
But, Robin, thou did'st did not defend
Thine actions, nor yet once make clear
That Sherwood was for honest men
A place of sanctuary, not of fear
'Twas not until that wond'rous day
When I rode through with Lady Vine
Thou took'st our reins and bade us stay
To speak with thee and take some win
And as I gazed, from each direction
Yeomen with their frightened wives
Forswore that but for thy protection
They would surely lose their lives
In Sherwood, they could safely hide
When foul aggressors seized their lands
Some were hanged, and others died
In torture, wrought by evil hands
But those embraced within thy care
Inside that green and leafy glade
Encountered friendship that is rare
And sanctu'ry none could violate
When sufferings of the ordinary man
Shamed those upon whom they'd been put
Thou could'st no longer idly stand
And see them trampled underfoot
I watched thee champion the oppressed
Feed starving children milk and bread
Give shelter to the dispossessed
And hope, from whence all hope had fled
I watched thee kill the sheriff's deer
And roast it o'ver a roaring flame
Whilst starving families crowded near
To eat and bless from whence it came
The sun beam'd down its glorious eye
And prurient passion swelled my heart
That thrilling woodland day when I
First saw thee as the man thou art.
Thy face, to me the finest art
Which canvas ne'er displayed more fine
Alone, not knowing where thou art
I wonder could each sound be thine
Was there a face or form more fair
Than thee, whose love o'erwhelms me so
And for one lock of thy dark hair
I would to hell most gladly go
Was e'er a man by woman birth'd
More steadfast in defence of good
Against the villain, ever first
To draw thy sword, bold Robin Hood
But, lo ! One time, perchance, too late
Thou seest the thrusting varlet's blade
Could fear I dared not contemplate
Become the awful truth instead
And deep inside my fretful mind
I pray, dear Lord, it must not be
That I shall wake ere long to find
My truest love is ta'en from me
Oh, heavy do my footsteps weigh
Uphill the rocky path I tread
Could I endure another day
Should it be proved that thou art dead
Mine eyes and memory try to be
Supportive of the sights I'd choose
And what these eyes no longer see
This memory paints in vivid hues
No sweeter time can e'er be found
Than when two lovers merge as one
But nought's more bloody than the wound
Left open when that love has gone
The pleasures felt when love awakens
Are settled at enormous cost
When one or other love is taken
And one or other life is lost
The hour-glass measures minutes passed
The sands of time fall one-by-one
Perfection, destined not to last,
Will sparkle briefly, then begone.
Sunflowers quickly pass their prime
And every day yields fresh surprises
The end is never far, for time
Is friend and foe in different guises
The scented rose we can but hold
Scarce longer than it took to grow it
Today brand new, tomorrow old
Departed, gone, before we know it
Morning birdsong never lingers
As we wake, it fades then stops
Pleasures slip between our fingers
One by one, like water-drops
An end awaits all things begun
As morning clips the heels of night
But in my darkest hour, dear one,
Rememb'rance burns, forever bright
O love, how sweet thou wert to know
When first I felt thy gentle touch
How stealthily the hand of woe
Now sours a heart that loved too much
If time, my love, hath stopped for thee
And raging tides stand paralysed
I'd care not if beneath the sea
This land should sink before mine eyes
I'll care not that tomorrow's sun
Will darken over as it must
As this ruined heart, when thou art gone
Shall perish by a sabre-thrust
Now weary of the world, I gaze
Above the clouds, beyond the sun
And think perhaps that golden haze
Might be thy heaven I gaze upon.
In God's dominion of the sky
No place was better earned than thine
None more deserves to stand head-high
Among the chosen, love of mine.
In time the common earth shall hold
My bones like thine, and none shall fret
But of thee, stories will be told
That no-one can, or shall, forget
The day I'm summoned to my death
I'll kiss that long-awaited call
Thou knowest till my dying breath
My love for thee transendeth all
