Forgotten Ground Regained

Gawain

A Solomonic sign adorned his shield,Five tines pentangled on a flaming field:
Five joys our gentle Queen took in her childe,Five wondrous wounds of Christ in which we’re healed,Five virtues that the valiant knight must wield,Five fingers in both prayer and skirmish skilled,Five senses sanctified and sealed.
Still, only stumbling in the trial of threeCould mend the mar in this stout armoryWith sin’s green sash, badge of humility.
Published in Forgotten Ground Regained: A Quarterly Journal of Alliterative Verse, New Series, Issue 6, Spring, 2025.
Copyright © Steve Knepper, 2025
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