The Kasbah

Dedicated to the writer of 'Grotesque And Arabesque Tales'-Edgar Allan Poe, especially the masterpiece that is , 'The Raven'.

In a desolate night on a gravelly path

My feet making noises as I traverse the silence

And the still night tempting me with her charms

Like a lover onto her arms

The moonlight casts a sweet shadow

And gets reflected in the haze

On the pebbles and in the stream

And in the reflection casts a spell

Which draws me ever onward

On the long winding road to eternity

The smell of the earth

Mingles with the freshness of the air

Tempts, seduces and intoxicates the senses

Pushing me into a free fall

Through the rabbit hole into neverland

And suddenly before my eyes

Rise the ruins of the majestic kasbah

Of the mad King of Anotherworld

Who died there unknown and uncared for

Vanquished by love as much as by war

And in his last days grew ever so mad

By love and other drugs

That he pined for his heart

To burst out of his chest

And proclaim his love to the Otherworld

And so I decided to enter the citadel

To feel what is told nevermore

Though the ruins were dark and foreboding

And the path leading therein hardly inviting

As I stepped inside I slipped

And slided helplessly through a pit

Which smelled of death and decay

And I could feel myself shiver

As I landed on the King's sepulcher

I fell with a thud and let out a groan

And in the darkness thought I heard someone moan

Stumbling along I fell on something hard

And saw that it was a heart shaped box

Attached onto which was a heart shaped card

Written on it was death's eulogy

And of true love burning bright

And that he who finds the box

Must not give in to terror & flight

And judge in his own time and space

If there's ever been a greater example

Of love in all its majesty and splendor

Diminished by none and ever so proud

On the threshold of immortality's door

And so as I opened the box

I recoiled back in surprise and terror

When I saw the bloodied heart therein

Still beating like a primeval engine

Pining for her: the King's lover

Author's Note

An experimental story within a a poem narrative. Let me know what you think of this.

Reviews

[Sel Whiteley]

Wow, this is exactly how to subvert Poe with a greater meaning, love triumphs over all. A well-crafted poem with masterful rhythm and rhyme.

[Nothing Personal]

A different poem indeed. A tale of fantasy and myth depicted with allusions of haunting and dreamyness.. It;s a splendid tribute to the masterful EA POE. I could feel EA POE's language almost in the first two stanzas.. Great work Sid, way to go with this new format and genre..

[Robin]

a powerfully emotive ending ! a dark tale you have told here Sid , great images , great writing .

[Gone]

This is well crafted verse. I agree with Craig and Alex so completely that I need not add more. well done.

[An owl on the moon]

What a brilliantly woven tale, dark and haunting... You take us there through vivid imagery that moves one deeper into the past, and awakens the sighing present. Powerful!

[Alexander Loux]

I REALLY liked this! It'd be nice if you put them in stanzas, but it was very beautiful. I find my self wishing for more. What happened next? What of this mad King and his lover? Who were they? What were their fate? Maybe a little editing would be nice, but beautiful and well done!