Iseult

Iseult

The heartless waves move too fast,
Carrying her on.
Behind her, Ireland slips into the mist of another life,
Ahead, Cornwall, arranged marriage and
Unending, grey, loveless duty.
Beside her, a man she ought to hate:
- who killed her lover;
- whose life she saved;
- who wins her for the King,
Beside her, that man she dare not love.

Inviting Death they drink the potion
( - better Death than life apart?).
Sipping poison's substitute
All unknowing -
The Death they seek will take a longer road.

A torch extinguished signals another fire:
A passion consuming, confessed.
Betrayal, that boorish, unwanted guest
Curses them to the King.
Seeking love in Death
They are parted.

In Brittany he lies, wounded,
Waiting,
Yearning.

The heartless waves move too slow,
Carrying her on.
She comes too late.
Her lover in her arms,
She waits.

(The invited guest completes the long road,
Knowing how to time his entrance.)

A love beyond joy and sorrow,
A love beyond youth and old age
A love beyond life and death,
A love beyond time and weariness,
A love beyond the world's ending,
A love beyond all mysticism
Transcends, transfigures:
She is verkl?rt.

? Elfstone 14/11/03