The Castle by Edwin Muir (poetry reading)

Your enemy might not fight fair, so don't be too complacent. All it takes to defeat you is for someone you trust to be corruptible.

The paintings are just to provide atmosphere. The first is Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland. The second by Diego Rivera shows Cortez taking a bribe.

Photograph of Edwin Muir was by Mark Gerson:
http://www.npgprints.com/image/404606/mark-gerson-edwin-muir

All through that summer at ease we lay,
And daily from the turret wall
We watched the mowers in the hay
And the enemy half a mile away
They seemed no threat to us at all.

For what, we thought, had we to fear
With our arms and provender, load on load,
Our towering battlements, tier on tier,
And friendly allies drawing near
On every leafy summer road.

Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
So smooth and high, no man could win
A foothold there, no clever trick
Could take us, have us dead or quick.
Only a bird could have got in.

What could they offer us for bait?
Our captain was brave and we were true....
There was a little private gate,
A little wicked wicket gate.
The wizened warder let them through.

Oh then our maze of tunneled stone
Grew thin and treacherous as air.
The cause was lost without a groan,
The famous citadel overthrown,
And all its secret galleries bare.

How can this shameful tale be told?
I will maintain until my death
We could do nothing, being sold;
Our only enemy was gold,
And we had no arms to fight it with.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Castle
• Edwin
• Muir
• poetry
• Poem

[RedDeliuzza]

What's the rhythm and metre of this poem?

[wiednba]

nice keep going

[bobnorwal]

@colourmegone He was already wizened -- which I suppose means made a wizard... What more could the bastard want!

[thissong4you]

"A little wicked wicket gate..." Perfect. (I thought I posted this earlier today, so if it shows up twice, just consider it an echo).

[colourmegone]

One wonders if the "wizened warder" might have been a little less corruptible if his terms of employment had been a bit more generous...

[paulpellicci]

...how little things change...

[pattyfromtoledo]

thank you!