Camelot Was No More

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

We finished The Squire’s Tales,
All ten. Like in Hamlet, everyone dies.
After a month of solid reading, I say through tears,
“Camelot was no more.”
We all want Camelot to continue.

And yet. Though the Round Table fall,
Much is redeemed: the old pretender
Ends well. Evil is defeated. Love wins.
The proud are humbled.

And yet. Though much is taken,
Much abides. Arthur sleeps, for now.
And the hope of England is not crushed;
Not entirely.

Knight, holy man, family, poet—
It is all any land could want.
If the knight will be honorable,
The holy man true, the family loving.
And if the poet will sing.