Rapunzel (sonnets I-V) - collaboration (HM)

I.

Tears streamed from swollen eyes like pouring rain
the world so empty like her barren womb;
her husband drew her near to ease the pain
and in their need they kissed by silver moon.
Their window then revealed a tempting plant
amongst a witch's garden there to see;
her craving turned her groaning into chants:
'I must have Rampion fulfil my needs!'
He stole and crept and listened to her plea,
then robbed the hag for which he had to pay;
she said she would forgive this one misdeed
but that she must possess their babe one day.

The plant was plucked but at what thorny price?
Temptation can with glee destroy a life.

~ ~

II.

A girl was born, her beauty unsurpassed -
her parents light was snuffed by brackish hand -
a promise bound to keep in distant past...
Rapunzel's fated life now worthless sand.
Locked high away from kindness she would cry,
though loneliness revealed the purist light.
The world outside so cruelly passed her by,
but each imprisoned day, she dreamt of flight.
Rapunzel's hair was finer than spun gold,
her locks were used as ropes instead of stairs;
the witch would climb to her by grabbing hold
and daily visit her within the lair.

True love ingrained in blood is strong of will;
when dreams are all we have, it lingers still.

~ ~

III.

Rapunzel only ever heard her name
when called upon from far below the heights -
yet still her song would set the woods aflame
and fill a hero's heart with such delight.
A passing prince who heard Rapunzel sing
would cheat the witch and imitate her call;
with golden locks that would become love's wings,
he grabbed a hold and scaled the tower's wall.
Rapunzel's eyes had never seen a man
so fear abounded through her darkened cell,
but gentle words took hold the flames and fanned
a growing love that left her sadness quelled.

A lonely voice that sings from joy impaired
can lead unto a heart that is repaired.

~ ~

IV.

How could this love traverse these dizzy heights
when evil's breath choked like a tourniquet?
Beneath the stars, they planned by muted light
to weave some silken steps then steal away.
But then Rapunzel spoke some careless words:
"The prince feels so much lighter on my head!"
The witch with this would have true love interred
and to the desert, she was dragged instead.
The hag secured the braids upon the sill,
then saw the prince come riding through the trees;
the golden stairs became such rocky hills:
"Let down your hair, Rapunzel, I beseech!"

The bird that sang a tune from nest on high,
now captive in the desert sure to die.

~ ~

V.

He met upon the crest an altered face
who laughed away his fright with open scorn;
he fell with all his wits at once displaced
And pierced his teary eyes amongst the thorns.
The punctured prince now wandered all alone,
surviving on the forest's meagre fare -
"But wait! - a voice returns my heart from stone
with notes that steal away my life's despair."
With tears, Rapunzel healed his ruptured sight -
her joy, a cooling spring amidst the thirst;
Their love now soared away from evil's blight
and left the witch's selfish scheming cursed.

A tower could have meant Rapunzel's doom
but in the barren heat, a true love bloomed.

~ ~ ~

michael moran & ben pickard
2016