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Title: Le Watson Sans Moustache
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: Gen
Length: 285
Content Notes: Ballad; crack; Holmes/Watson or Holmes & Watson; in the style of La Belle Dame Sans Merci (Keats)
Summary: Fortune favours whisker’d brave!



I.
O What can grieve thee, sleuth-at-case?
Afoot’s the game, amoor’s the hound,
The corpse is bruised; most foul the play;
And clues abound.

II.
O What can grieve thee, sleuth-at-case
So stricken and harrumphed?
The evidence is hid from sight,
And the Yarders stumped.

III.
I saw a brown tuft in thy hand.
With edges shorn and foamy tips,
And at thy feet a basin’s spilled,
And razor drips.

IV.
I met my Watson in Barts lab,
A man of healing arts and war.
His hair, rich amber, shone like gold,
And his moustache, more.

V.
I made a garland, words not vines,
To awe him and to flash my wile.
He look’d at me with brows upraised
And wondrous smile.

VI.
I bade him come and share my life
As Boswell, aide, companion, friend.
He came, became, my whetstone, rock
On whom I depend.

VII.
I found my Watson loyal, brave,
No matter plot, plan, scheme, or ruse,
In language plain, he said, “I’m here
For you to use.”

VIII.
His features, solid, square, and true
His eyes as telling as his script.
His crowning glory centre-face
Above his lip.

IX.
So lush, his bristling bristles gleamed!
No finer ever graced my eyes.
This morn, bare-lipped, he greeted me,
To my dread-surprise.

X.
I cry, again, aloud and pained,
“How can dear Watson fail to know
That fortune favours whisker’d brave,
Not shaven beau?”

XI.
I seized the culprits, blade and bowl.
The why’s elusive even still;
For mind, a puzzle; pride, a blow;
And for heart, a chill.

XII.
And this is why I stand aggrieved,
Though game’s afoot, amoor’s the hound,
Though foul’s the play; the corpse, well-lashed;
And clues abound.

Comments

[identity profile] thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 27th, 2016 08:14 pm (UTC)
A true ballad, dedicated to a lost moustache.
ext_1789368: okapi (Okapi)
[identity profile] okapi1895.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 27th, 2016 08:54 pm (UTC)
A clean shaven Watson is something to lament.
[identity profile] ride-4ever.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 28th, 2016 12:06 am (UTC)
Well done! I <3 traditional poetry forms turned to the use of fic!
ext_1789368: okapi (Okapi)
[identity profile] okapi1895.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 28th, 2016 01:38 am (UTC)
Thank you! Glad you liked it! Yes, a fun form to experiment with.
ext_1620665: knight on horseback (Default)
[identity profile] scfrankles.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 28th, 2016 10:22 am (UTC)
It still takes me aback that the technical stuff is new to you - you are such a natural poet. I mean, the phrases: "sleuth-at-case", "Afoot’s the game, amoor’s the hound" and "most foul the play" are amusing, of course, but also so elegant and clever. Your meter is perfect - it feels completely natural. And V, VI, VII are so beautiful.

I love the way you playfully refer back to the original poem: I made a garland, words not vines,/ To awe him and to flash my wile, In language plain, he said, “I’m here/ For you to use” - and the repetition and reply in the last stanza.
ext_1789368: okapi (Default)
[identity profile] okapi1895.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 28th, 2016 12:39 pm (UTC)
Ha! Thank you! I had my little print out of Keats's poem with me for 10 days, since you posted the reminder for ILU, scribbling here and there. The idea came at once but the execution took a while.

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