The Castle Poem by Edwin Muir

The Castle

Rating: 3.5


All through that summer at ease we lay,
And daily from the turret wall
We watched the mowers in the hay
And the enemy half a mile away
They seemed no threat to us at all.

For what, we thought, had we to fear
With our arms and provender, load on load,
Our towering battlements, tier on tier,
And friendly allies drawing near
On every leafy summer road.

Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
So smooth and high, no man could win
A foothold there, no clever trick
Could take us, have us dead or quick.
Only a bird could have got in.

What could they offer us for bait?
Our captain was brave and we were true....
There was a little private gate,
A little wicked wicket gate.
The wizened warder let them through.

Oh then our maze of tunneled stone
Grew thin and treacherous as air.
The cause was lost without a groan,
The famous citadel overthrown,
And all its secret galleries bare.

How can this shameful tale be told?
I will maintain until my death
We could do nothing, being sold;
Our only enemy was gold,
And we had no arms to fight it with.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Bernard F. Asuncion 20 August 2017

Such an interesting piece of poetry...... thank you so much for sharing....

4 7 Reply
Edward Kofi Louis 20 August 2017

At ease we lay! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

4 6 Reply
Liza Sudina 20 August 2017

Our only enemy was gold. And probably someone's passion to it.

4 6 Reply
Subhas Chandra Chakra 20 August 2017

We could do nothing, being sold; Our only enemy was gold, And we had no arms to fight it with. It is a great poem showing your artistic skills. 10 for the sharing of the poem.

1 6 Reply
Anil Kumar Panda 20 August 2017

This nice poetry. Thanks for sharing.

1 4 Reply
Mishu 14 June 2021

Good

2 0 Reply
Suresh R V 05 November 2020

Excellent, Heart touching Poem in this regard

2 0 Reply
Naveen 28 August 2019

Good poet

3 1 Reply
Sharmi 22 June 2019

Tq for your information

1 1 Reply
Glen Kappy 20 August 2017

And so so much in this world is sold. -GK

1 4 Reply
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Edwin Muir

Edwin Muir

Orkney / Scotland
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