Graciela Esperanza de Sevilla

Upon the Field

Upon the field of battle strode,
A Knight in all his glory
The sight he made, unto this day,
Fills all the bardic stories.

Tall he was, and fair of face
His sword and armor gleaming
A brave and noble warrior he
Could face down any demon.

With banner high and weapon ready
He charged into the fray
With lion-like ferocity
He vowed they’d rue the day.

Upon the field of Battle strode
A heart consumed in hatred.
Until his weapon in crimson bathed,
His bloodlust not be sated.

A simple look into his eyes.
No mercy there you’d find.
Rivers of ice flowed through his veins
And darkness closed his mind.

Upon the field the wounded cry
Their long and sorrow’d songs
That echo in an empty soul;
That weaken what was strong.

Upon a field of regret strode
A man completely broken.
Of the brave and valiant Knight we knew
Was left not one small token

For as darkness swept across the land
He survey’d what he’d wrought.
With heavy heart, he remembered not
For which injustice fought.

Upon a field of resolve strode
This man who’d lost his way;
And knew a lesson learn-ed he
That for eternity would stay.

No matter what the cause may be
War is not a noble end
For Death in all his ghostly garb
Knows neither foe nor friend.

Says Knight unto his squire,
“Son, when thou doth earn thy spurs,
Pay heed to all thine action well,
To the consequence incurred.

“For ill words may be forgotten,
Those wounds heal as time flow on.
But the crimson tide upon thy blade
Means a life forever gone.”

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Upon the Field - Documentation

This poem is one of my first 'serious' attempts.  I am a writer/poet who finds writes from inspiration more than anything else.  As I sat one day staring out the window, I saw the sun shining and reflecting off of something in the distance.  I was reminded of the sun shining off steel armor on the field.  There came the title.  As  I thought a little harder about some of the fighters I knew, there came the inspiration for the character.  After the first few verses I thought.. 'we need to give him a nemesis ... someone to fight on the field of combat' and that's where the piece took on a life of its own.  I had originally intended for there to be 2 individuals on a field of combat ... after I stopped writing I realized that the two men were one and the same.  It just *felt* right.  At that point ... the piece finished writing itself and I could see a much older and wiser knight sitting at his hearth, a fire blazing in the background, imparting the lessons of wisdom that can only come from experience.

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Medieval
Lady Graciela Esperanza de Sevilla was born in Seville, Spain in the mid-1500s.  The daughter of a Spanish noble who raised horses and became enamored of a performing gitana (gypsy) and took her into his home.  After giving birth to Graciela, the call of the nomadic lifestyle sent her mother back to her family and the life she knew and loved.  Graciela remained behind with her father.  After years of trying to turn her into a Spanish Lady (good luck), her father realized that it was of no use.  Graciela excelled in the kitchen and loved to play with different herbs as well as having the passion for performing that her mother had. Graciela, tired of the restrictions placed upon her by her father, left Spain to perform whereever she could.

Modern
Gracie Boone lives in the High Country near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Originally from New York (yup ... New York City, the Bronx, even). she has always had a love of performing and has been dubbed the "karaoke junkie" among her close friends.  Gracie has been writing poetry of one variety or another since her early teens and can be moved to tears by a well written verse or song. (yes ... I'm a sap).

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Last modified March 11, 2005. Content suggestions to Lord Olivier de Bayonne