Poetry Train Monday - 99 - Smiles Saved For the Banquet

Here is my latest found poem. I've taken this from a writing exercise I did almost a decade ago, when I found a wonderful writers' group in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

We met at one another's homes, once a month. We would do writing exercises, and then share pieces of writing we'd been working on. I so enjoyed finding this group. They helped me stay sane when I'd moved from the Big City of Toronto to a fishing town of 8000.

This poem visits one of my favorite stories - the King Arthur/Guinevere/Launcelot love triangle.

Ride the Poetry Train! Click HERE.




















Smiles Saved For the Banquet


Arthur
Turned in the archway
His face shadowed
By the lowering sun

"It is said
You are often found weeping."

"By whom
My lord?"
Guinevere asked
Her tone flat

"By the court.
The servants.
By most,
In fact."

"It is a lonely time
For me, these
Wet months. It
Turns my mind
To my own home."

"So many years away.
It still brings tears?"
Arthur
Took a step into
The room, still feeling
The heavy distance
Between them.

"A woman's world
Is her home,
My lord.
I have no children
To comfort me
Here. My mind
Turns to those days
When I thought
A child was part of
My future. That
Is all."

"So you
Do weep
Then?"

"All women weep
Sire.
Especially
In our rooms
When we are left to
Ourselves.
We save our smiles
For the banquet
And the garden.
We allow our sighs
When we are
Private.
Tis of no
Consequence."

"It is to me,
Lady."
Arthur
Walked to his queen
And stood before her.
"I should like
To take you from
These shadows
If they wring such
Sorrow
From you."

- Julia Smith, 2009 / original piece written April, 2000

Painting: Queen Guinevere by William Morris

Michelle Johnson says I felt as though I was transported back in time.

Thomma Lyn says Wow. I love the Arthur / Guinevere dynamic.

Anthony North says Ah, so much of western cultural output comes from the Arthurian legends.

Thursday Thirteen - 54 - 13 of My Favorite Fictional Couples

I'm taking a one-week break from my book review Thursday Thirteens. I had to get a writing submission ready for a competition which I passed in on Monday, on my lunch hour. That didn't give me enough time to read the book I won from Amanda Ashby - You Had Me at Halo.

I'll be reviewing that next week, however, so make sure to stop by and find out why it's been nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award.

This week I'm featuring 13 of my favorite fictional romantic couples.


1 - King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo from 300

Click here for their YouTube video




2 - Ares and Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess

Click here for their video







3 - King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot from King Arthur
This is actually a tragic love triangle - oh, how I love tragic love triangles!

Click here for their video




4 - Aragorn and Arwen from The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Click here for their video




5 - Brian de Bois-Guilbert and Rebecca of York from Ivanhoe

Click here for their video





6 - Captain Frederick Wentworth and Anne Elliot from Persuasion

Click here for their video




7 - Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice

Click here for their video




8 - Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind

Click here for their video




9 - John Thornton and Margaret Hale from North and South

Click here for their video




10 - The Phantom and Christine Daae from The Phantom of the Opera

Click here for their video




11 - Anton Gorodestky and Svetlana Nazarova from Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)

Click here for their video





12 - Wolverine and Phoenix from the X-Men trilogy

Click here for their video






13 - Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa from the Star Wars saga

Click here for their video