Thursday, November 02, 2006

Sir Justin the Bold

To Justin, my adventurous and chivalrous son
From Dad
On your 6th birthday: October 27, 2006

NOTE: I love to write goofy little poems for people. Usually I just stick them in birthday cards for friends or scratch them on the front porch at home with sidewalk chalk. But a few weeks ago, my wife challenged me to undertake to write a special poem for my kids on their birthday each year, and I agreed to give it a try. The boys have been studying the Middle Ages in school. Added to Justin’s well-established love for swordplay and his gentlemanly spirit toward ladies, I was all set for a fitting tribute to my second son. Enjoy!

In these fair lands the tale is told
Of a young knight—Justin the Bold,
The bravest hero in the West,
Who set out on a daring quest
To save a princess from her fate
Of landing on a dragon’s plate!

Sir Justin braved the mountains cold
And mighty seas where high waves rolled;
Across the desert without rest,
He came upon his greatest test—
The dragon’s castle, black as slate
And there behind the iron gate
He saw, with princess in his hold,
The dragon on a heap of gold.

Hot flame spewed from the evil pest
And blazed upon the royal crest
Of Justin’s shield. And with a great
Charge Justin slew the beast of hate,
Thrusting his spear into a fold
Between the dragon’s armor old.
And catching up the maiden lest
She fall, he smiled and did his best
To get her home and not be late
So they could go on their first date!

7 comments:

MadMup said...

That, my friend, is some good stuff.

I hope you keep up this tradition for as long as your children can stand it. These will be cherished memories some day.

Josh said...

Thanks, Dude! I'm going to try. I know that I just love the poems my dad wrote way back when, and they weren't even for me in particular.

Anonymous said...

ahhh, makes me think of maiden Kya and her fair knight, Justin

sorry, fantastic grandson, I couldn't resist

Unknown said...

That is really cool, Josh! And I think, ironically enough, we sent him a card of royalty without even knowing! How extra cool!!!

Josh said...

Thanks, Danna. He loved your "King for the Day" card, btw. It was perfect!

Rogue Blades Entertainment said...

Hey hey hey, Sir Justin! What a great tribute you've exacted from your father! Way to save the day, the gal, and the date!

You're pretty impressive, too, King Josh. Keep up the fun words!

Swords together, Justin!
Unca Jason

Anonymous said...

Tell Devin that I love him and that I want to see him and that when I get the cat back, if he can play with me for a little while and watch Home Alone that we got from Gramma. Love you, from Aidan