To a man of nobility, of wealth and fame
The beauty from a far off kingdom, came
With charm and grace, her lord enchanted
The seeds of love’s compulsion planted
He sought to win her favor day and night
She refused his advances, try as he might
Bestowed upon her diamonds, rubies, pearls
But nothing moved the heart of the obstinate girl
But her resistance only stoked his fires
Finally unable to restrain his desires
He devised and schemed to spirit her away
Prepared a hidden tower for her to stay
But his passion was fierce and he lost control
In his fevered frenzy, her life he stole
Despair and grief, keening ragged breath
He determined to possess her e’en in death
So her blood he drained, replaced with wax
Laid on furs, draped in silk, sealed ‘neath glass
And thus he conferred upon her immortality
That he might preserve her for all eternity

This poem was inspired by this illustration by Harry Clarke for ‘Morella’ by Edgar Allen Poe in Tales of Mystery and Imagination. And partially by the short story Miss Henrietta Stralson by the infamous Marquis de Sade.
