[Bards] Poetry Exercise #8 (long)

[Gerald Norris]

Loch Soillier has a Boar
(Inspired by my first Yule Revel at Loch Soillier)

At Yuletide I had traveled South,
With friends and family I would share
A pleasant day of feast and song,
In pretty Loch Soillier.

I had just settled down to play
A reel or two (or maybe more),
When panic-stricken children cried,
"Loch Soillier has a boar!"

"A fearsome beast, with fangs like this!"
They curled up their little fists,
With little fingers pointing down,
While laughter rang amidst.

The ladies cried, "We are unsafe!
Brave hunters save us from this fear."
Others, muttering, shook their heads,
"This happens every year."

The yule-cook, on the other hand,
Seemed happy to hear of the beast.
"Bring back the boar," he said with joy,
"I'll serve him at the feast"

And so we ventured in the fields
To bring this dread beast to the hall.
For sport we limited our arms 
but two spears each for all.

Now boars are dangerous, 'tis true,
And certain were we of this beast
That other plans he might have made
Than serving as our feast.

At last the boar was tracked down,
With ready spear we circled it,
Singly we would try our hand
To place it on a spit.

And so the first shot, steady thrown,
Did miss the beast, who, lightning quick,
Dodged to the side, with haughty snort,
Avoiding the sharp stick.

Thus it was, as others threw,
The boar avoided one and all,
Until, at last, a true shot thrown
Did bring about its fall.

That evening, when the feast was served
At table we did tell the tale
Of hunters and the hunted as
We laughed and drank our ale.

The best tale told was short and sweet,
The victor stood for all to see,
Then raised his glass and shouted out,
"Veni, vidi, vicci"

And so, dear traveler, please take care,
If you revel at Loch Soillier,
Be ready when the cry goes out,
Loch Soillier has a boar.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: bards-bounces at ansteorra.org [mailto:bards-bounces at ansteorra.org]On
> Behalf Of Ulf Gunnarsson
> Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 12:56 AM
> To: Ansteorran Bardic list
> Subject: [Bards] Poetry Exercise #8
> 
> 
> Well, the last lesson went over like a lead balloon.  If I ever turn
> this into a regular course, I'll have to revise it.
> 
> The hunt was an important part of courtly life and, therefore, poetry. 
> There was some thought at the time that hunting was the best pursuit of
> a knight when not out righting wrongs, as it kept him out of bed... his
> or others.  Poetry about hunts are a good opportunity for sexual
> innuendo.  The chase, the weapons, the capture... These lend themselves
> well to very indirect allusions of trying to win a woman or woe a
> woman.  They work for other topics, as well.
> 
> They are also a good time for comedy, especially when the competent is
> shown to be incompetent by the wily fox or some other "lower life
> form".  Man is supposed to be superior to animals, yet the hunt is a
> good vehicle to follow the classic definition of comedy: tragedy
> reversed.
> 
> I will not introduce a new form to follow for this topic.  Choose one
> you are comfortable with, or one you want to experiment with.  Shorter
> lines are bouncier and good for speed or comedy.  Longer lines allow
> more development and are therefore good for illustrating the more
> intellectual concepts.  Generally.  But I'm sure someone here will prove
> me wrong.
> 
> Write a piece about a hunt and use one of the two flavors above:  the
> hunt as innuendo for something else, or the hunt as comedic failure.
> Please keep it as medieval as possible and remember that your mother may
> be reading this list.
> 
> Ulf Gunnarsson
> 
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