King in Rags

Cantebury Tail

The King in Rags: Prologue

There is a king in rags

So rich in coin how his purse sags

Garbed in beggar’s clothes was he

And given the appearance of being dirty

But when coming to challenge of sleight of hand

He would rob you of all from where you stand

His stature is of average size

But what is unique is his eyes

They wander about searching for full pockets

To pick as well as shiny golden lockets

There was no lock he couldn’t undo

And not a safe he couldn’t break into

By day he begged from street to street

By night he stole and ran with foot so fleet

Cloaked in darkness and robes of black

There is no skill of subtly for him to lack

The king of shadow and sneak

This story tells of how he fell from his peak

Beaten at a game he played best

His crown now placed upon his chest

Taken from his head

He lies all but dead….

 

 

The King in Rags:

Once in a time when snow fell not upon the land

And yet summer was not yet at hand

In the month of March and its Ides

When the peasants tended the rustic outsides

And merchants were left to rule the city wealth

A beggar lived in rags but remained in good health

A king was this man in rags

His eyes unlaiden by black bags

The king of thieves went on his merry way

Of begging in the streets by day

For at night he was to steal a statue

And it is just what he intended to do

The statue was resting in a chapel of saints

But was surrounded by drunks and daints

When dusk had reached the horizon line

The thief began his wait for the final sign

Before he made his way to the church

And readied for his comfortable perch

Through the second window

Of the third floor first row

He undid the latch and entered the threshold

And stared at the bounty now his to behold

Quickly he grabbed it and made his way back out

Down the street before any could even shout

Out from his coat pocket the statue gleamed

Shining golden in its holy ways it seemed

On the corner was a monk in robes and hood

But the King in rags couldn’t see where he stood

The monk spotted the stolen treasure

Deciding he would have it at any measure

He stalked the king in rags all the way to his hiding spot

It was an abandoned building in an empty lot

He waited for the master thief to leave that night

And he would steal it back before first light

Why not leave a humiliating note

So the monk wrote:

“So the King in Rags has lost his game

His prize stolen by a monk without a name

Your humiliation is my joy

Run along now foolish boy

Leave the jobs to the grown men

I shouldn’t want to have to do this again!”

The thief returned and found the message on the wall

He cursed and spurned it all

He had been beaten at his own game

By a monk without a name

All because of his arrogance

His prize stolen in his ignorance

He decided he would get his revenge on his enemy

“Monk I shall get you, wait and see!”

He ran to the church

Once again climbing his comfortable perch

He undid the second window

On the third floor first row

When he gained entrance he smiled ear to ear

And towards the statue he came so near

Out from the shadows came the monk in robes and hood

And many other angry priests now stood

The monk scorned the thief’s arrogant ways

The priests stepped forward at dawn’s first rays

They took him to the cross where he laid

Upon the crucifix till his debt was paid

 

Revenge is not the best tool

It will turn a king into a fool

Ruin follows all who go down this road

It leaves people in the dust to corrode

No good comes from this state of mind

An eye for an eye makes the world go blind!

 

Author's Note

Had to write this for english