The third in my series of semi-found poems derived from The King of Elfland's Daughter, by Lord Dunsany.
Forth from the unicorn issued a groaning,
A sound low and awful, as never is heard in the fields that we know.
Then there was naught but the wonderful carcass,
The deep growls and roaring of hounds as they wallowed in fabulous blood.
Curséd be unicorns, all of their ways,
And everything else in the world that be magic.
Curst be their horn and the place where they dwell
And the lilies they feed on. Curst be their speed,
And their hide in white sleekness, their beauty --
And all things enchanted that wander by magical streams.
The Elf King, chaunting rhythmic, unknown words,
An age-old incantation, ordered Elfland
To drift away from Earth, the mortal realm.
As in a moment no one can determine
When sunset layers turn from gold to pink,
From glowing pink to listless unlit colors,
All Elfland left the edges of the fields
Which all men know, and hied where men know not.
Motionless fronds of dream-gripped trees lay calm.
Petals of myriad roses stilled their trembling.
Sharing the King's content, Elfland reposed.
Thus continues my series of semi-found poetry inspired by attention-arresting phrases from The King of Elfland's Daughter. "The Retreat of Elfland" is less of a found poem than "Almost Elfland," for I've taken a bit more liberty in rearranging the phrases, and even inserted a few words. Still, though, any beauty you find in this should be considered Lord Dunsany's doing, not mine.
So strong enchantment lay o'er all that land,
It seemed there was an understanding there
That reached from men to trees, from trees to men.
More beautiful than aught our wonder guesses,
More than our hearts have hoped, the dewdrop lights
Hint of the seaweeds draping cliffside rocks.
Eternal beauty dreams in honied air
Where nothing ever stirs or fades or dies,
Nor seeks its happiness in changing things.
This is almost a found poem. The stanzas are adapted, with only miniscule changes, from lines on pages 15, 20, and 40 of The King of Elfland's Daughter.
Hello again, all you drongos. The Drongo continues to drong-grow: 18 subscribers received the first interview, but now there are 34 of you.
Our lineup of interviewees stretches all the way to June. Thank you so much for reading -- keep doing it!
The Drongo: Today on The Drongo, our guest is Lyla Boyajian. She's one of the most energetic people I know, and if she's not a drongo, nobody is. You'll see.
Who exactly are you, Lyla?
Lyla Boyajian: I'm from Chichester, New Hampshire, and I studied Spanish at Reed College. I moved back home and spent a year recruiting for the 2020 Census. I'm currently working for the NH Bar’s Pro Bono Program before I start a delayed Fulbright in Armenia next spring. After that, law school. I've also been studying Russian for the past 4 years.
If you've been thinking, "It's been far too longo since I read The Drongo," you are in luck.
At Carla's request, I've temporarily taken down this interview (for reasons not related to the interview itself.) You may enjoy one of the other entries in this series.
