The Hanging Tree
Oh lover why were you so weak,
Making days seem so bleak.
Secrets that you never told,
Your torment’s grip in tightened hold.
I held you as you began to weep,
Exclaiming what you sowed you reaped.
It took a letter that you gave,
Addressed to me from beyond the grave.
That your parents found love letters,
From me but became your fetters.
As they locked you in your room,
Nightly beatings would resume.
Until the day that finally came,
When they asked about your shame.
With empty heart and lifeless eyes,
You said your love was an evil lie.
False, wrong and misguided,
The beatings quickly then subsided.
They smiled content with their work done,
Oblivious to what had just begun.
As mind and body struggled and fought,
You couldn’t help but be distraught.
Thinking that you were so broken,
To want a love that unspoken,
Then the snake of malice did slither,
And whispered to you words so bitter.
That the only answer there could be,
Was tied to the hanging tree.
Shadows And Light
I thought of you with every breath,
My love for you does fear no death.
A journey made among the shadows,
To feel your family’s sharpened arrows.
How can I love you they ask of me,
As two women that cannot be.
I plead and beg and make my vow,
To make you happy if they’ll allow.
With sneer and scoff they say to me,
A Wife to a man she will soon be.
I see the tears roll down your cheeks,
My heart is breaking as I grow weak.
But as you know the fox I am,
I bide my time and start my plan.
For in the dead of night you see,
I’ll come to you and we will flee.
On wings of gold we’ll surely fly,
Like shining gems in the sky.
Lost in thought I did regret,
Not noticing the deadly threat.
As arrow was pulled back by bow,
With no place to hide or to go.
I held you tight and faced my fate,
That we would die for their hate.
But love is light and it did blind,
The arrow’s aim of the narrow mind.
So in the night we flew away,
Our heart and soul we did obey.
To Lily with love.
Music flowed like honeyed wine,
Lyre and drum beat most divine.
I saw you there shy and meek,
A rosy hue upon your cheeks.
Shades of blue you did wear,
And It was more than I could bear.
With courage from the noble mead,
Love my heart had decreed.
Then I saw to my dismay,
A handsome man dressed in grey.
He took your hand and you did smile,
My heartbeat pounding all the while.
Never would I have of thee,
For loving men is your degree,
My raindrops fall on soft sweet flowers,
While yours fall on noble towers.
I turn away with tear filled eyes,
My feelings quick I must disguise,
Forgetting not that night of mine,
With lyre and drum beat most divine.
Roxanne Thibault (pen name: C. Wolff) is a short story/poetry writer. Their work has been featured by Rainfall Publications UK and also by Eastoftheweb.