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Open Poetry #18
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Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

0 posted 2002-02-07 04:39 PM



The Emerald Isle

Before the days of knights and dragons
On the Emerald Isle it’s said
Lived the ghastly Beast of Bristles
Some have called it “Isle of Dead”

None have come back from this island
All who tried were spiked and burned
That is why some folks still say
It is “The Isle of no return”

It’s a place of velvet meadows
Lovely hills and snow white sand
What is now the Emerald Isle
Once was christened “No Man’s Land”

All had great desire to live there
But somehow they couldn’t wrench
This wasted land from Beast of Bristles
Slimy snout and sultry stench

This creature lived a thousand years
A thousand more he would remain
A thorn of hope, a spike of fate
The bristled spear of life’s distain

For dreaded monster though he be
Across the isle he spread his waste
The Beast of Bristles made the isle
The earth’s most fruitful., fertile place

Every youth had in a vision
Conquering the Bristly beast
Every one who tread the isle
Became a bristled beastly feast

The folks had gathered in the hall
Deciding that a hundred men
Would cross the channel late at night
And trap him in the creature’s den

A hundred men with swords and spears
And catapults to smash his brains
The most skilled fighters, slingshots, rocks,
Every weapon they could name

They came upon the monster’s home
The cavern reeked of beastly grime
Surrounding it , they waited for
A signal in a moments time

The beast emerged from out the cave
The moonlight shown his ugly head
So shocked were they who witnessed live
The beast more gruesome than was said

Someone gave the battle cry
The spears and rocks and arrows flew
But spiky bristles by the thousands
Was a force they couldn’t outdo

The dead men numbered ninety-nine
Speared and singed , a warrior’s plight
One escaped to tell the tale
Of beast impossible to fight

Then one young man stood up and claimed
The Beast of Bristles would be killed
He’d squelch the fire from his nostrils
Leave him eyeless and dequilled

Laughter echoed in the tavern
Jokes spread wildly through the town
How could a novice gypsy traveler
Put a Beast of Bristles down?

So young and thin, no warrior he
Who claimed the animal would die
They watched him board a little craft
With just one arrow by his side

The laughter rose with visions of
A scrawny lad upon a barge
With bow and arrow by his side
To kill an animal so large

They laughed away the day and night
And drank as jokes flew through the air
A gypsy with one single arrow.
What a joke beyond compare

The boy, meanwhile was coming close
He gasped for breath in musky stench
The Beast of Bristles soon appeared
The boy hid in a nearby trench

The monster was not fooled at all
He clamored in his awkward gate
Knowing what would lie ahead
The tragedy of youngster’s fate

He then appeared above the boy
Bristles poised to swiftly fly
He opened wide his fiery mouth
And fury marked his evil eye

The boy within a second’s time
Shot an arrow through the air
A secret poison gypsy potion
Handed down to gypsy heir

The bristles of the beast fell off
And underneath this spiky shield
There was an ugly wormy creature
Not a weapon left to wield

The boy returned upon a barge
With ugly monster head in tow
He was the hero of all time
The rest’s a story we all know

They settled on the Emerald Isle
That will remain forever green
And this must be an Irish tale
I heard it from a sweet colleen

Elizabeth Santos

© Copyright 2002 Elizabeth Santos - All Rights Reserved
Interloper
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Member Rara Avis
since 2000-11-06
Posts 8369
Deep in the heart
1 posted 2002-02-07 04:57 PM


Sure and it's the truth

Fool, said my Muse to me, look in thy heart and write.

Mistletoe Angel
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Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
2 posted 2002-02-07 05:03 PM






BRAVO!!! Oh my gosh, this is breathtakingly marvelous, sweet friend, your words make the vision of a hero come alive and sing with love and justice and harmony, this is marvelous! Erin Go Braugh, may the beauty of the Emerald Isle always sparkle! (kiss on cheek) God Bless You, sweet friend, we all love you so much, I'm adding this to my library, this is marvelous! You have such a beautiful heart, sweet Elizabeth, thank you for sharing!



May love and light always shine upon you!

Love,
Noah Eaton

Trillium
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Member Patricius
since 2001-03-09
Posts 12098
Idaho, USA
3 posted 2002-02-07 05:06 PM


Liz:  I'm half Irish and I had never heard this amazing tale before.  Thanks for posting it and as usual, it is admirably done.

Betty Lou Hebert

Soleil Noir
Senior Member
since 2001-12-19
Posts 688
USA
4 posted 2002-02-07 05:11 PM



You, my Lady, are a master storyteller, and this, an Epoch worth telling...

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
5 posted 2002-02-07 06:15 PM


Someone asked me to write an epic poem of dragons and knights and such, and this is the result. Thank you for your reponses and I'm glad you enjoyed the tale
I enjoyed writing it
Liz

Irish Rose
Member Patricius
since 2000-04-06
Posts 10263

6 posted 2002-02-07 07:02 PM


An epic wonder you have written....this is a masterpiece.

Kathleen--(Kay)
"When red-haired girls scamper like roses over the rain-green grass, and the sun drips honey."
Laurie Lee



strbbux
Member Elite
since 2001-12-19
Posts 3859

7 posted 2002-02-07 07:28 PM


Elizabeth, this was such an enjoyable read from start to finish, and I love the last verse, Great job here, quite an effort I may say. Lovely, floria

Floria

"Alas for those that never sing,
But die with all their music in them"
(Oliver Wendell Holmes)

Enchantress
Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113
Canada eh.
8 posted 2002-02-07 07:41 PM


Elizabeth, you are quite the teller of tales...*notice I did not say 'tall' tales*  I'm part Irish and I believe every word you say!  This is wonderful and you do it so well!  Thank you for the great read tonight!
~Hugs, Nancy~

~Time has cast a spell on you,
  So you won't ever forget me~

skyshine
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Member Elite
since 2002-02-07
Posts 3058
Beneath the northern stars
9 posted 2002-02-07 10:25 PM


What a rendition of a good ol' Irish tale! I enjoyed this read, Elizabeth.

sky

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
10 posted 2002-02-08 03:02 AM


Thank you allfor your comments. I'm glad the Irish ladies enjoyed it
Liz

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