The Ring And The Crown

Far to the north
in a country of spruce
and rushing rivers
a young goldsmith
settled in a village
remote and isolated
from the world
he had fled

He labored long
to fashion things
he found in the river
and in the woods

Arabesque fantasies
complex and elaborate
filigree and fretwork
fit for a sultan’s dreams
shifting shape
dissolving in mist

He sang tunes
of no tone on a zither
to the wolves
and bears
that prowled
and howled
in the wild
darkness

A modern bard
captivated
by primeval
notions
he labored
in ecstasy