Crown Sits Uneasy Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

Crown Sits Uneasy



In barren lands far in the north
engulfed by snowy peaks
in a village by rushing waters
an apprentice gold smith
set up in a dusky foundry

He washed black sand
from the river, laboring long
and hard to extract bits
of ore for his magic alloy

He fashioned things of gold
in arabesque fantasies
of filigree and fretwork
fit for a monarch's court

The king sent an emissary
to fetch the artificer
to his towered castle
in the plains below

The artisan of glittering
gold was tasked with
creating a crown
from royal treasures

The artisan wrought
in smoky chambers
lit by raging fires
a resplendent crown
a diadem of diamonds
set in hammered gold

Word went out for all
to gather forthwith
to witness and celebrate
a regal coronation

Furthermore the king
decreed that the golden
artisan should be put
to the sword and beheaded

With the fate of his peer
in mind the court poet
fled to another land
where artificers
were held in highest
esteem

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