Dawn Raid

Wind swirls and rages round the tower.

Rain pours torrentially down our walls.

We glimpse a light to the distant east.

Is it an early sign of dawn?

No. From the forest, sounds a horn.

The beauty trembles in her chamber.

Her Lord has fled, with his rebel crew.

We two remain inside the castle,

Earl Ferrers's mistress,

And I, his fool.

Prince 'Longshanks' will be avenged

But when and how -

We do not know.

Then, shouts are heard at the portcullis.

We scramble down the winding stairs,

And rush into our sacred chapel, hiding there

For sanctuary.

This giant bursts in, clad in mail,

Royal tunic on his great chest.

'Sweet Jesu, save us!' we kneel and say.

A shaft of daylight blesses the altar

A flash of metal from overhead.

Then blood co-mingles on the earth.

The sun has risen!

Two souls have fled...

"This poem was influenced by events that possibly occurred in Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire, c1264."