Poetry Sunday: Neuschwanstein

In 2005, I was serving as a National Guard officer on active duty in Iraq. Like all soldiers in my unit, I got 15 days of leave one time during that one-year tour of duty. Around September, I took my leave and met my wife in Frankfurt, Germany. We spent the next 15 days touring the country by train.

Our first stop was Berlin. From Berlin, we went north to Hamburg. From there, we traveled south to Cologne. We followed the Rhine river, stopping in certain places to enjoy the scenery and each other. Finally, we made our way into Bavaria and visited Neuschwanstein #castle. It was one of the highlights of our journey.

Image taken by yours truly, The Humble Poet

Sometime after, I don't remember when precisely, I wrote the following poem. I believe it was after returning home, so it would likely have been 2006. The above photo was a huge help in pulling me into the creative zone to birth these lines. I can't say they do the castle any justice, nor does the photo, but these are the verses.

It's not my typical poem. I don't write about castles, fairy tales, or history much. I don't try to capture reality and put it on a page. I don't particularly find myself writing about beauty. Let other poets handle such tasks.

But #Neuschwanstein had to be written. I couldn't hold it in.

I'm conflicted as to whether to call it a good poem. Lyrically, there's not much to it. Musically, it has my fingerprint. There are likely other poems on the subject much better. And I am of the firm belief that, as a poet, I have other poems that top this one by varying degrees. Nevertheless, when I die, let this one stand as a small part of my ouvre, and let the world the know I wrote it.

Neuschwanstein

Seated high above the vaulted crags
An unfinished mystery attacks all eyes
Like a stab in the fog or the dark,
A tribute to legend and history’s once mad king
Who dreamed of living his myth-like life.
     Tristan and Isolde above his bed,
     The king of kings above his head,
     The fabled swan swam all around
     Until the day his sickness drowned;
     The music protected by young Parcifal
     High above the gorge that binds its walls.
Bavaria’s home, this castle, a fairy tale unfulfilled,
Tannhauser lives through ages never viewed
     From the bridge which outgrew her master’s disease;
     Marienbrucke discarded the son she could not appease.

Ludwig, O Ludwig, how wondrous was your work
Admired through your scope from below.
     Could you have imagined the fame
     Your masterpiece would elicit;
     Or the elevation of your name
     Inspired by a million visits?
Did your father’s house deepen, or deplete, your resolve?
Was your favorite schloss a hindrance to your will?
How then did you cope when your enemies brought bad news?
     Your mistress, incomplete, stands thwarted yet adorned;
     Her imperfections are an art that others would scorn.
     Your love for one composer did justice to design,
     And today your chapel stands to weather time.

Enjoy some of my other poems while you're here: