I am I
The Lost Lily
Watcher of the sword Camelot
Held by the one called King Arthur
I was chosen
To leave the lake
But taking mortal form blessed me with a curse
That deemed I would see the future
But only in halves
For I have seen many things
Wonderous and Cursed things
I keep to myself
For I saw only half of the curse
And not the whole
And so I stayed locked in my white tower.
Weaving a cloth of rainbow colours
Weaving what I saw in my mirror
I could not look out my window
For I knew that then my end would come
And so I stayed locked in my white tower
Grieving over the evil that is yet to come
For I knew that the High King
Would come to much sorrow
And I dared not to tell anyone
And so I stayed locked in my white tower
Fearing the evil that is yet to come
For I saw that the great realm of Camelot
Would come soon to its end
And so I stayed locked in my white tower
Weaving a cloth of rainbow colours
Weaving what I saw in my mirror
I could not look out of my window
For I knew that then my end would come.
I was weary of this white tower
And yearned for something more
Or return to the Waters of my birth
And I decided that I would look out of my window
I tossed my cloth onto my bed
And hurled my mirror onto the floor
I turned toward the window
And then I hesitated
And three steps to the window
And looked out
I took a breath of wonder
For I had never seen anything so beautiful
The mirror, like my curse
Had shown me only half of the whole
And as I looked out,
I watched the sun as it began to set
A ball of molten gold it was,
Colouring the sky with crimson and rose and velvet-purple
As it sunk into the sea
Then I looked down,
Admiring the flowers of forgotten gardens
And then I looked down at the rich brown dirt path
Tiny golden buttercups dotting the way
But hark!
For then did I hear a horse's hooves
And the jingle of a horse's bells
And above them both I heard a fair voice
Singing a song of old
As I craned my neck
I saw a horse coming up the path
How fair it was, how strong it was, how rich its fittings were!
But then I saw that upon the horse
Rode someone fairer still
A knight,
Dressed in silver armour
His shield hung from his back
His sword swung at his side
But his helmet had been removed
So that I could gaze upon his face
My heart leapt; my breath escaped me
His face so kind and gentle
And yet so strong
His hair and beard
Shone as Ravens wings in the dying sun.
To my tower room I returned
And worked a great enchantment
I worked and wove throughout the night
And when the dawn broke fair
My enchantment was complete
A harp of gold sat in my hands
And I began to play as the sun began to rise
The notes fell from the golden harp
As streamers of silver magic
They floated through the air
Then in my tower room
I began to sing
My song fell from my blood-red lips
A song of light
A song of ancients love
A song of crystal magic
The song fell from my blood-red lips
As streamers of crystal rainbow magic
They floated through the air
Chains of golden harp-notes, of silver song-notes, of crystal rainbow love-notes
In the light of the pale morning crescent moon
In the light of the golden morning sun
For now I was doomed
My golden harp-notes
My silver song-notes
With my crystal rainbow love-notes
I had brought about my end
By looking out my window
And as the sun departed from the land
So did my soul depart from the world
Returning to the embrace of my Lake
In tears did my ladies kiss me farewell
As they lay a lily between my hands
And crowned my russet hair with a circle of silver
And then, in silence
Did push me gently into the stream
To follow the current to Camelot
It has been many a year since the boat was set adrift
Yet still I float
On the river that took me past Camelot
Tol take me to my last resting place
Back to the land in which I was born
To the Isle of Nimue
To Avalon
But the time has not come
That I can return
So still must I float
On my black barge
Dressed in robes of rainment white
A girdle of silver lilies shining round my waist
My russet hair crowned with a circlet of silver with lilies entwined
And a single white lily I clasp in my hands
In this attire I do float
Waiting for the time that I can return
To the land in which I was born
To Ynis Avalonia
To the Isle of Nimue
To Avalon
