CAMELOT FANTASIES

THE NIGHT RIDE - REIVERS IN THE SADDLE
(by Mercurial Night aka Lace)


This night the moon
Shall hide her face
Ashamed and afraid
Unwilling to shed her pale virginal light
Upon the ungodly creatures below
No assistance shall she offer
In their unholy ride this night

Stealthy, silent
Muffled hooves betraying none
The Reivers are on the prowl
As ravenous wolves
They scavenge the land
Delivering revenge and death
Upon those unwilling to pay their price

Their prey stays huddled
Lambs to the slaughter
Within stone bastions
Grim and dark
Or meagre dwellings
Weak and frail

Fearful at their hearths
Starting at every sound
Awaiting the unexpected bark
The sly knock on the door
A guttural demand "blackmail"
From a throat hoarse with travel
Beneath eyes black as coal
Impenetrable gaze boring deep
In the light of a dancing torch

Or better still
The thudding rumble
Of many muffled hooves
Riding by
Riding onwards
This night another
More deserving perhaps?
Shall guest the wild dogs tonight
Those devil riders
Who know no law but their own
No master but their own