Songbird, Retold: A Chant Royale

An expansion of my villanelle “Songbird.” Hope you enjoy!

Lirena made, with her incantations,
Her awestruck people hopeful and enthralled;
She had a husband who laid the foundation
For her people to prosper, proud and tall.
Content with where her lot in life had lain,
She was never one to gossip or complain.
For wealth and prosperity she did not pray,
But only for her portion for each day.
Lirena was a songbird born of yore
Who dearly loved her husband everyday;
She sings her songs of merriment no more.

One day, on misfortunate visitation,
An enemy’s battalion came to call;
Much worse than any imagination,
They assaulted the land in a violent sprawl.
From the rocky beaches to the open plain,
A trail of innocent victims slain.
Her beloved abducted from the fray,
She cried out for him in helpless dismay.
Lirena was a songbird plagued by gore
From the ruthless marauding on display;
She sings her songs of serenity no more.

With newfound hope and determination,
She resolved to follow the assailant’s haul;
Trailing the ships with muted trepidation,
She paid no heed to the tumultuous squall.
Through rolling thunder and torrential rain,
From her sacred purpose she would not wane.
Never wavering or going astray,
She followed the captors by night and day.
Lirena was a songbird, frail yet sure,
Braving waters tempestuous and gray;
She sings her songs of temperance no more.

Days after the merciless invasion,
The enemy’s fleet finally made landfall;
She pleaded with them in desperation
To not let harm on her husband befall.
With no care or remorse, they made it plain
That they had no empathy for her pain.
She spotted from a distance away
Her beloved laying in cold disarray.
Lirena was a songbird mourning for
The love and livelihood she lost that day;
She sung her people’s secret song of yore.

The song filled her with indignation
And ushered in their decisive downfall;
She became a winged abomination,
And left no survivors to run or crawl.
She quietly vowed in her hot disdain
That she would put an end to their bloody reign.
Like a fire burning all in its way,
She was a purging flame that would not allay.
Lirena was a songbird born for war,
Like a ravenous hawk hunting its prey;
She sings her songs of victory no more.

Centuries have passed since that dreadful day,
And she still haunts that cursed bay.
Lirena was a songbird of long forgotten lore;
In perpetual solitude and decay,
She sings her songs of sorrow evermore.