Abraham Tolley 2nd Form (Year 8)
Sonnet number 2: What is...
Abraham Tolley
A house without a door
A lion without its roar
Bread without butter
The nervous without a stutter
A king without a crown
The angry without a frown
What impossible things these are
Maybe occuring somewhere afar
A building without blocks
Boats without docks
A farm without a hen
A fox without a den
What impossible things these are
I do wonder if they occur, somewhere afar
The Ballad of the Baskervilles
Abraham Tolley
It was around the Michaelmas time
The white snow was falling
In dead of night I saw a sight
that truly was appalling
A great black beast with dripping jaws
Stared down red eyes aflame
My father Hugo of Baskervilles
In these parts a cursed name
Next to him a dead maid lay
Her eyes were round with fear
Pale hair and dress were stained with blood
The beast then did disappear
'O how came this to be?' I ask
A dreadful tale it is.
'O how my father damned our name?'
The tale passed down is this:
By chance old Hugo fell in love
A maiden young and pure.
Cruel Hugo was profane and vile
Rejection he couldn't endure
Se he and five wild henchmen
Stole down to the farm
Stole down in utter silence
Grabbing her by the arm
Her father and brothers being from home
He brought her to his hall
They locked her in and went to sin
In drink they had a ball
Left alone she tried for home
Down ivy she did climb
Three leagues o'er desolate moor
Fleeing just in time
When Hugo found his bird escaped
The devil snapped his calm
He forced his horse and started away
To do that maiden harm
'Set all my hounds upon the lass
They will find her anywhere!'
The drunken squires reacted slow
The chase for maiden fair
The moon shone clear above them
The chase it did begin
Thirteen men in hot pursuit
Making a raucous din
They came across a madman
A shepherd crazed with fear
At last he told them what he saw
The devil on his mare
As they continued onwards
They saw Hugo's mare
Empty saddle galloping away
Face scared beyind compare
They came upon a gorge so deep
Most frozen with fear
But three men bold or drunk
Continued, riding near
The moon shone down above them
Two stones marked the spot
Sacred stones beside them
On him backfired the plot
The moon shone clear above them
The lass alas was dead
My father beside her
The hound's eyes were fiery red
It was around the Michaelmas time
The white snow was falling
In dead of night I saw a sight
that truly was appalling
A great black beast with dripping jaws
Stared down red eyes aflame
My father Hugo of Baskervilles
Forever cursed that name
Time
Everything is controlled by it,
Measured by a small circle.
It’s not even an actual force,
Yet the ruler of the universe.
Call it what you like;
Samsara, age or time,
Nothing can avoid it,
Everything crumbles in time.
The greatest civilizations will sink
It doesn’t matter if the battle is won or lost
Life will soon be over
The inevitable force will quash
My desperate words do not matter for they to will be forgotten time,
But savour every moment of your existence as your bells will soon chime.
A Haiku: The cold
Frozen to the bone
An unstoppable power
It overwhelms all