Calderon's Russia

[RiverNotch]

Calderon's Russia


A giant with silvery hair and starry eyes
discovered herself betrayed by her old beau.
He wanted more power west---he wanted to wed

a lady who bled azure---and thus abandoned,
the giant with silvery hair and starry eyes
readied a gilded sword and brazen clarion,

bandaged her breasts and her hair, then mounted a horse
able to cross a river in just one step.
Across the taiga then up some mountains she sped.

In the court of a king so wracked by fear of fate
he judged it a crime for his heir to have been born,
the former lovers met. The case was pressed

and, in the end, the giant with silvery hair
was shown by her gilded sword to have been noble,
to have much greater strength and sense of honor

than any potential partners from the west.
Only that she'd fulfill her dogged quest
were nuptials again announced: before the altar,

with Poland’s court the guests, the traitor waited,
tapping his foot as the clock ticked morning to evening,
for a bride that had since some rugged peaks descended,
a forest crossed, and home with peace resettled.

Part of a series started during this year's NaPM. Might have the entire series workshopped here, but for now, the entry that's gotten the most significant changes since.