Songs of the Minstrels

Notes: Hey! I resemble that....

With thanks to Harold Feld for scansion tweaks.

Hasten, oh minstrel, and run to the Feast Hall,
Get there with barely enough time to spare!
The feastcrat has asked for some period music
To add to the mood and to brighten the air.
Your stomach is growling a basso profundo
You're all out of breath, so you barely can hiss.
Sing, though your songs all go mostly unheeded,
Except, don'tcha know, for the notes that you miss.

Hasten, o minstrel, back to your campsite
Pick up your songbook and instruments three.
Run, through the darkness, to your next engagement
And try not to run into some unseen tree. (pause: "Ow")
Think, while you're running, and go through your playlist,
And try to remember the words to each verse,
For when you get there, you're sure that some joker
Will ask you to sing them the "Moose Song"--or worse!

Hasten, o minstrel, down to the listfield,
To write a new song of a bold martial sort.
The Baroness wants songs of Phoenix's (1) valor,
And, hey, it's another song to show off at court. (Who, ME?!?!)
List to the cheering from all the spectators,
Hear mighty blows that will make helmets ring.
And try to keep track of who's winning and losing,
Except you're in back, and you can't see a thing!

Hasten, o minstrel, off to the revel,
Firelight is burning, and mead's going 'round.
Try to compete with the doumbecks and bagpipes,
Yet after ten minutes you can't hear a sound. (Shhh!)
You've fallen asleep in the midst of the revel,
You've run till your brains and your voice have gone numb.
Sleep, and your snoring may drown out the pipers,
For only a minstrel could be quite that dumb!

(1): I'm in the Barony of the Sacred Stone in the Kingdom of Atlantia: our barony's device is "Vert, a double-headed Phoenix in flames, argent." (For those not familiar with heraldry: the shield is green, the Phoenix and flames are white.)

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