The Castle Queen Poem by Edward Hester

Once there was a castle strong
With walls near nine feet thick;
Black granite drawn from Scottish coasts
Iron gates from London picked.

She perched upon a stony peak
Above an valley floor.
Wild lightning dancing around her head
And warriors at her door.

The ramparts towered ninety feet
With turrets all around.
Its soldiers standing arm’ed guard
With faceplates all pulled down.

Around the citadel a moat
Of river water deep;
And should a foeman venture there
Grim welcome would he meet.

They say a Lady lives inside
Of lovely face and form
Who once was courted many times
By Princes rich and warm.

They say she gave away her heart
To one who won her Love;
A Prince, Pendragon, golden hair
His shield, The Silver Dove.

But He was tempt by other things
Like power, wealth and gold,
And finally left his Lady fair
For war and campaigns bold.

Around the heart of his fair queen
High walls began to spire,
And hours in her dungeons dark
She spent in torture dire.

The darkness of its halls grew thick
With ghosts of might-have been;
Its fabled gardens turned to gray
Where vines and weeds contend.

There, they say, for many years
She hid behind the Wrong.
Her heart close-guarded from all hurt,
A sunless, haunting Song.

The old friends came for many years
But finally went away.
For her great wound had harden’d her heart
And turned her welcome fey.

At last her Legend faded out.
No Princes heard her name.
The Walls alone stood guarded there
In splendid, lonely Blame.

But Nature loves the lonely heart
The Land is Woman Green,
And so the Land reached out to Her
To heal the Castle Queen.

The River stretched to change its course
And circled round the fort,
Caressing gently at the Stone
And enter’ng at the port.

The River softly came inside
And washed the darkened halls.
The dungeons filled with golden fish
And ivy covered walls.

Fresh flower’d fragrance graced the air,
And songbirds sang the morn.
The stables rang with horse’s neighs
With news of foals new born.

The wounded Queen with wonder woke
To find the River there.
Like Love it was that, once inside
Brought healing, peace and care.

And there before her flower’d bed
There stood a Gallant tall.
She thought Him like a mighty Oak
A’standing in her hall.

“And who’re ye? , ” (the Castle Queen) ,
So gently did he sue,
“I’m the Lord of the River Deep,
And I am here for you.”

The Land’s warm life right through him shone
His smile was wondrous, faire,
And Goodness bright around him glowed
Like starlight in the air.

They lived right there for many years.
But gone the mighty walls,
And gone as well, the castle moat,
And darkened dungeon raw.

Now e’n after a thousand years
The people tell the Tale
Of the Lady and the River King
And the Castle in the Dell.