This morning I sat noticing,

The castle walls had shrunk;

Where tapestries had hung before,

Now laid a pile of junk.

Where wizards had been gesturing,

And princes had been drunk,

The halls now sat in silence,

Like memories in my trunk.

No unicorns upon the land,

No dragons to be fought.

The armors all hung empty,

No quests, no fortunes sought.

The flags upon the battlements,

Are rags, bereft of hues.

The minstrels and the jesters,

Have gone and left no clues.

The King and Queen so long revered,

Had boarded ships and sailed.

The demons they were fighting,

Had long ago been jailed.

So, here I sit amid the dust,

Apprentice to the past,

And wonder if my day will come,

If they’ll return at last.

Marjan Farzaad 12/26/1995