The
Cave
The
Cave
Merlyn the enchanter
Conceived inside a cave:
Little did he know,
It would also be his grave.
Young Merlyn went to see
The Hermit of the Hill:
"Please, sir, can you teach me?"
The hermit said, "I will."
The man taught him of science,
Of math and medicine,
And he even taught him magic
To use from there on in.
Soon Merlyn went away,
And the future he foretold.
A respect among the people
In a short time he did hold.
When the Hermit died,
Merlyn took his place,
For he always kept his distance
From the rest of the human race.
Then a child was born:
A king he'd someday be.
But with all his enemies,
The child could not roam free.
So Merlyn took the child
And hid him safe away:
His time it would not come
Until another day.
When the child was older,
He pulled a sword from stone.
And this new king, named Arthur,
Would sit on Britain's throne.
Merlyn kept close by him,
As teacher, and as friend,
And ever the day came nearer
When Merlyn would see the end.
One day there came a woman,
With whom Merlyn fell in love,
Though he knew that she was
His doom sent from above.
This woman, she seduced him:
He gave her all his power.
She locked him up inside a cave
At one fateful hour.
That cave is now his prison,
Never will he be free.
The beginning and the end
Were in that cave, you see.
1993
Related Books:
The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart
Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson
