Castle Thoughts Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

There is a land of stones and oaks
and windy Baltic weather
of fishermen and farming folk
who love to sing together

That land has borne so many boots
of foreign expeditions
of blood and plunder through the years
and chains of harsh conditions

There was a time when knights in steel
possessed and ruled with swords
they forced the natives to build walls
befitting proudest lords

These structures rose toward the sky
across wide boundaries
ignoring ancient hallowed fields
exacting dues and fees

The peasants' life was very hard
they suffered mute with grief
yet always hope hid in their chests
for freedom and relief

But that was centuries ago
how many things have changed
those fabled halls built with much toil
are sold and rearranged

A manor with a lofty name
and history of note
has now become a realtor's plum
with or without a moat

What price is honor, what price fame
who can set down a cost
of provenance or cunning tiles
or ghosts who haunt the host?

I think when all the chaff has flown
and decorations burned
the crucible of time reveals
none of what man has earned

No rubies nor the finest gold
are left in those last days
no manors and no jeweled swords
or towers that amaze

I do believe and trust it's true
the final hour reveals
a single stone, a solid rock
with words the Master sealed.