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.

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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