(Prince John)

I am Prince John, of royal blood,

my wants and whim are law,

yet still my person is besmirched,

as no royal has before,

I rule here in my brother's stead,

as God knows I have the right,

yet I do not receive the same respect,

as he, my brother might,

Tis true I have not gone to war,

done battle or held siege,

but who but traitors would deny

my right to be their liege?

They believe I am a greedy man,

because the tax I set is high,

but the war King Richard fights abroad,

has bled our coffers dry,

He demands I send more knights and arms,

more arrows, spears and horses,

believing that the Holy Land

will fall before his forces,

Whilst I attempt to rule a realm

that perceives me a pretender,

it would come as no surprise to me

who history remembers,

The Lion Heart, so bold and brave,

defender of the faith,

or I, the money grabbing Prince,

that rules here in his place?

My subjects all but hate me

for the means that I employ

to fulfil my brother's orders

and have his armourments deployed,

Admittedly some laws are harsh,

and punishments are stern,

but I must keep this realm in tact

until the King returns,

I will not have my brother say,

that I led the realm to ruin,

it shall be strong on his return,

though I'll be hated in the doing,

Vilified by those I rule,

with precious little thanks,

and it grieves me that my brother's friend,

Sir Howard joined the ranks,

of those who voice their treachery

in hushed and guarded tones,

such men, it seems desire the means,

to overthrow the throne,

His guilt is clear, I have no doubts

he was reported by a friend,

therefore it's justice that demands

at the block he meets his end,

And to the Axe-man's block with him,

is what I had decreed,

until fate returned my brother home,

in time to set him free,

But patiently I bade my time,

until the crusades called once more,

knowing, such a noble quest,

The King could not ignore,

And as soon as the horizon

had concealed his flagship's mast,

I made my way to Nottingham,

to oversee the task,

Of arresting, said Sir Howard,

this bold but treacherous knight,

and at break of day we seized our prey,

before he could take flight,

My strategy worked perfectly,

and just before sunrise,

we laid siege unto his estate

and took them by surprise,

We stood prepared to use our swords,

and sink them to the hilt,

but our prey gave up without a fight,

and thus, no blood was spilt,

Save for a few examples,

to ensure the lesson's learnt,

his livestock duly slaughtered,

then his vast estate was burnt,

Then as befits a traitor,

he was bound at foot and wrist,

on a horse almost as old as he,

if ever one exists,

And led towards the Axe-man

and a traitor's just deserts,

beheaded by a blunted axe,

to ensure his dying hurts,

The trip was long and arduous,

through a forest, cold and damp,

and shortly after sunset,

we called a halt to make our camp,

I posted guards at every quarter,

then grudgingly, I slept,

certain that the Sheriff,

and his men were all inept,

Then as I thought, in dead of night,

there in the darkened woods,

we were beset by ambush,

led by Robin in the hood,

Sir Howard's bonds at hand and foot

were instantly cut free,

and sword in hand, he made his stand,

to gain his liberty,

I drew my blade, and thus displayed,

my will to fight or die,

whilst the Sheriff, as expected,

ran into the woods to hide,

And his men gave scant resistance

to the ferocious outlaw horde

thus I don't recall how many outlaws

met their end before my sword,

Before I heard the Sheriff call,

pleading for my help,

so of course I ran to aid him,

scarcely thinking of myself,

He'd been cornered by a wild boar,

of which I freed him from,

but returning to our camp, I found,

the outlaw band had gone,

As was our prisoner, of course,

who's life it seems, is charmed,

for some-one always interferes,

to keep him safe from harm,

Whilst I am cursed by imbeciles,

greedy men and cowards,

who are not fit to clean the boots

of men such as Sir Howard,

If left to me, I'd find a tree

and hang them all with pleasure,

with the Sheriff up there in their midst,

for nothing but good measure,

For the Sheriff is an evil man,

who'll do anything for greed,

he'll torture, kill, or do my will,

the very kind of man, I need.

The End

By S.E.Ralph

3-7-2013