Word-Bird presents...
The Castle at Chermomor; or, The Troubador's Song
by
Fliss
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​​W.-B. notation: o-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O / o-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O...​​​​​​
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The stone wall stands so tall, for a moment he sighs
and considers returning to town,
when a memory comes, of her beautiful eyes
and her figure so graceful in gown,
then he sees a firm foothold, determines to try
to make true on the promise he swore:
“I shall sing to my Love of my love till I die,
then my spirit sing love evermore!”
He embarks on the climb, scales the uppermost heights,
and peers down into grand garden grounds,
lustrous lawns, beauteous blooms, clothed in moon’s languid lights,
and the guards on their stern midnight rounds,
but they do not glance up as they march swiftly by,
and he tunes to the flowery floor:
“I shall sing to my Love of my love till I die,
then my spirit sing love evermore!”
He descends among lime limbs to crouch in long grass,
then steals slowly along the box hedge,
as soft lavender lemon balm southerlies pass,
with the scent of the far sea and sedge,
then he hears distant waves breaking hungry and high
and he calls to their warrior roar:
“I shall sing to my Love of my love till I die,
then my spirit sing love evermore!”
He approaches the tower door, made of oak beams,
yet ajar for his flight up the stairs
to her turret room, till now viewed only in dreams
but inspiring a thousand cantaires,
then he sings to his sweetheart until he is dry
and he whispers: “How I thee adore!
I shall sing to my Love of my love till I die,
then my spirit sing love evermore!”
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Published in The Ekphrastic Review, March 2022
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W.-B.’s notes: “I must begin by thanking Lorette Luzajic, excellent editor of The Ekphrastic Review, for accepting this poem for publication four years ago. It is something of a double-ekphrasis, inspired by both the painting by Viktor Hartmann and the musical number inspired by the painting, Modest Mussorgsky’s piano piece ‘Il vecchio castello’, ‘The Old Castle’. This piece is from his suite Pictures at an Exhibition and it is well worth a listen, here.“
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Fliss
Well, thank you, Word-Bird, and our thanks to Lorette, indeed! This was my second poem to be published on TER, a delightful journal featuring poetry inspired by artworks. I’d known Mussorgsky’s suite since my early teens, having heard it in concert. I went on to enjoy Ravel’s orchestration; and in my late teens, I started trying to play the suite on the piano. This was tricky as by then the autoimmune arthritis had set into my hands, but I gave it a good go anyway.
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Fast forward about 15 years, by which time I’d become a member of an informal online poetry-sharing site, and I decided it might be interesting to compose my own suite of sorts, comprising a poem inspired by each piece by Mussorgsky. I researched quite thoroughly on Wikipedia, also learning about the artist Viktor Hartmann, the close friendship the two men enjoyed, Mussorgsky’s devastation when Hartmann died aged just 39 years, and his creation of the Pictures to honour the memory of his cherished friend. Very few of the artworks survive, but there’s still the painting of the old castle and the troubadour, above. I opted to write what I term a ‘waltzer’ (here, alternating lines of anapaestic tetrameter and trimeter), revising it in 2022 in readiness to submit. There might have been scope to reseach the tradition of the troubadour too, but I was (and am) working full time, long hours, so there was no time. Besides, I had an inkling Lorette would like it just as it is, having familiarised myself with the journal 🤩
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As always, heartfelt thanks to the poets who feature in this issue, and to all our readers of course. We’re grateful for the support we continue to receive, as we start thinking about the next issue. The troubadour embraces you all! Happy Mad March from the tiny team.
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Barb | Claudia | David | Janet | Janice | John | Mark | Martin | Melissa | Mike | Paul | Steven | Susan
