This is the first and only poem thus far that I have written for Cynthia, my wife of two weeks. I finished it the day before our wedding, 4th April 2009…

This song concerns a princess;
The fairest in the land
And when I’m through with singing,
I hope you understand.

A true gem was this maiden,
The like you rarely find,
So what you now imagine,
Pray scrub it from your mind.

She grew up in surroundings
As princely as they come,
And all throughout the kingdom
Was held as number one.

Such men who dreamt of beauty
Were suitors one and all,
For grace and charm adorned her;
Her looks they did enthrall.

But life was not so easy
For this our special gem,
For no man would believe her
That she was just like them.

And so a gulf did open
With no man drawing near;
Not even local princes
Could overcome their fear.

Until one day unnoticed,
In crept a dark, young man,
And darkness did become him,
It was not just his tan.

‘Twas not what she expected,
‘Twas not what he had planned,
Yet Fate she had conspiréd
To put them hand in hand.

Quite how he then did win her,
It baffles us indeed,
Except that unbeknownst
He satisfied her need.

Yet what had he to give her,
Besides his grim, dark heart?
From whose dim gloom and blackness
Most souls would fain depart.

But see now in their union
How darkness turns to light,
As on another person
They both now do delight.

The secret of their glory
Is plain for all to see,
But only those still seeking
Will truly be set free.

So come and taste the pleasures
Of this great royal place;
Sing with me of the princess
And lose yourself in Grace…