THE CASTLE

The castle stands upon its hill
Draped it seems in a cloak of ill,
What evil lurks within its walls?
What horror stalks its darkened halls?
Who knows what terror there awaits
For one who'd dare to pass its gates.
Yet no one has for countless years
The curious quelled by unknown fears.

Strange then that in days long gone
Lights from every window shone,
The doors were ever open wide
Inviting folk to come inside.
Inviting folk to join the throng
Where voices rang in joyful song,
Where light and laughter filled the air
And people danced without a care.

Strange then that those days have passed
Those endless nights of gay repast,
Yet not so strange if I but tell
The tale of terror that there befell.
For the devil himself had entered in
Cloaking them all in a shroud of sin,
Quashing the laughter, dimming the light,
Banishing joy from memory's sight.

The lord of the castle in folly and pride
Had prayed to the devil to stand at his side,
Of laughter and music he took little heed
His heart had been smitten by envy and greed.
He lusted for power that wasn't his own
Thus was his fate irreversibly sown.
To get what he wanted he'd pay any toll
The devil accepted, and accepted his soul.

The deal done, the devil left
The lord remained, though soul bereft.
In revulsion then at what he'd done
He hid his face from light of sun.
The power he'd craved he now abhorred
So he took his life with his own sword.
With death he'd hoped that all pain ceased
That from his bargain he'd be released.

Yet the word of the devil did death transcend
It holds the lord until worlds end,
And though his body lies in its tomb
To walk the castle is his ghost's doom.
And so it has all these years long
Its wailings ring where once rang song.
It roams the rooms in deep despair
Where light and laughter once were there.

The castle stands upon its hill
Draped it seems in a cloak of ill,
Its lord still lurks within its walls
His ghost still stalks its darkened halls.
Such is the terror that there awaits
For one who'd dare to pass its gates.
Yet no one has for countless years
The curious quelled by unknown fears.

COPYRIGHT D M PAMMENT 2009