Pendragon
06-21-2007, 10:05 AM
Someone wanted to read this after I complimented them for a Phantom of the Opera poem. This is The Hunchback of Notre Dame, condensed to a 39 line sestina.
Abnormal: Quasimodo’s Tale
They locked me away up here in the tower—
To be the Caretaker and Ringer of the Bells.
They have always said that because I was abnormal,
I would be but a laughingstock, and never have any friends.
Do t’was best for me to remain here, said my Master,
The solitude would keep me away from a world filled with evil.
It stalked all through the streets of Paris, this Demon of Evil,
Perhaps it even lurked in the silence of my tower.
“Better to be safe than sorry!” Said my Master.
But I longed—how I longed—each time I rang the Bells
For their voices to call out and bring me a few friends!
And I wished with all of my heart that I wasn’t abnormal…
Today, there was revelry in the streets, something quite abnormal,
And I longed to go and see; and so I was evil
And I sneaked from my chambers in search of some friends.
I was caught and chained to the pillory in front of my tower.
The crowds mocked, laughed, and danced; mocked me and rang bells.
And there upon a throne sat the man I called “Master.
His eyes blazed with cold fury and the voice of my Master
Trembled with rage as he spat out that I was abnormal.
The silence spoke louder than the ringing of my bells.
His eyes gleamed as he told me that I was evil born of evil,
And lashes fell as I cried for water in front of my tower.
But out in the crowd I had made a new friend…
She came to my side in defiance, whispering that we were friends,
And angrily she turned and scolded my Master.
He arose in a rage, and she fled into the tower.
Bursting free, I screamed, “Sanctuary!” in a voice most abnormal.
Now, after all these years I knew where the true evil
Lay. “Sanctuary!” I screamed again while tolling on my Bells.
He slew her while I was off tolling those Bells.
I returned only to rescue the body of one who had called me “Friend.”
“At last!” I snarled., advancing on him. “I know now what is truly evil!”
I flung him from the battlements, this evil one I had called “Master,”
Hearing him shriek as his body twisted in many abnormal
Ways. Then his body stuck the cobblestones in front of my tower…
Notice: While doing renovation in the tower beneath the great bells,
We found something abnormal: Two skeletons, sad, but not evil.
They must have been friends. They we buried by order of the new Master.
© 6/30/97
D.L. Harris
Published in Tucumcari Literary Review in 1997. Their reprint rights recognized. Poem copyright returns to author.
Abnormal: Quasimodo’s Tale
They locked me away up here in the tower—
To be the Caretaker and Ringer of the Bells.
They have always said that because I was abnormal,
I would be but a laughingstock, and never have any friends.
Do t’was best for me to remain here, said my Master,
The solitude would keep me away from a world filled with evil.
It stalked all through the streets of Paris, this Demon of Evil,
Perhaps it even lurked in the silence of my tower.
“Better to be safe than sorry!” Said my Master.
But I longed—how I longed—each time I rang the Bells
For their voices to call out and bring me a few friends!
And I wished with all of my heart that I wasn’t abnormal…
Today, there was revelry in the streets, something quite abnormal,
And I longed to go and see; and so I was evil
And I sneaked from my chambers in search of some friends.
I was caught and chained to the pillory in front of my tower.
The crowds mocked, laughed, and danced; mocked me and rang bells.
And there upon a throne sat the man I called “Master.
His eyes blazed with cold fury and the voice of my Master
Trembled with rage as he spat out that I was abnormal.
The silence spoke louder than the ringing of my bells.
His eyes gleamed as he told me that I was evil born of evil,
And lashes fell as I cried for water in front of my tower.
But out in the crowd I had made a new friend…
She came to my side in defiance, whispering that we were friends,
And angrily she turned and scolded my Master.
He arose in a rage, and she fled into the tower.
Bursting free, I screamed, “Sanctuary!” in a voice most abnormal.
Now, after all these years I knew where the true evil
Lay. “Sanctuary!” I screamed again while tolling on my Bells.
He slew her while I was off tolling those Bells.
I returned only to rescue the body of one who had called me “Friend.”
“At last!” I snarled., advancing on him. “I know now what is truly evil!”
I flung him from the battlements, this evil one I had called “Master,”
Hearing him shriek as his body twisted in many abnormal
Ways. Then his body stuck the cobblestones in front of my tower…
Notice: While doing renovation in the tower beneath the great bells,
We found something abnormal: Two skeletons, sad, but not evil.
They must have been friends. They we buried by order of the new Master.
© 6/30/97
D.L. Harris
Published in Tucumcari Literary Review in 1997. Their reprint rights recognized. Poem copyright returns to author.