Castle battlements and halls, so long silent, awake!
Dark and deadly danger is once more at hand
and there are preparations of war and defense to make!
Defending herself, she is readying to take her last stand.

For her, there is no Hero and no sign of a White Knight.
There is no one she can rely upon, but herself alone.
She must fight this battle and she must wage it tonight!
For the foul deeds done against her, she must make them atone.

She draws up the great drawbridge and prepares for this war.
She steadies her ancient walls, shores up her crumbling towers.
Crying her battle cry, she calls forth a spectral army from misty legends and lore.
Her ghostly archers prepare, in crenulated recesses, flaming arrow showers.

Just then, from out of the deep and darkening gloom,
a bright and lustrous light bursts into view.
It’s beings on conveyances of carpet and broom
and she wonders, exactly, what they intend to do.

Laughing and smiling together, they settle down to land
They conjure luggage and necessities out of thin air.
Spells of light and powerful magic zoom from the hand
of a richly garbed wizard, with a piercingly intelligent stare.

~~~The picture above is one of 23 strongholds in Ireland that once belonged to my family. It still exits as it looks above today, but it no longer belongs to the O'Carroll clan (and hasn't since right after the Battle of the Boyne in 1690). Alas, we didn't do well under Cromwell, or the English invasion of Ireland, and sought a new life and future in America around 1688.
Just a little tidbit to add: It is considered to be the most haunted of Ireland's Castles, as reported by the A&E installment of "Irish Castles" that was shown on TV several times in the last couple of years. Check it out next time it's on.
As to why it's haunted? Well, let's just say that the O'Carroll's weren't exactly a "friendly" bunch! ~sigh~.
I will post a story about this in the near future.~~~