In my 2018 literature class we put on a Medieval feast (with everybody in costume) to celebrate the end of the school year. We had a fantastic time jousting, acting like barbarians, and gorging ourselves on turkey legs and ancient recipes passed down from The Wife of Bath, Beowulf, Macbeth, and other motley characters.

Last year in Ancient Literature, one of my students, Connor, wrote a poem titled “Up the Mast,” rhyming couplets, which was inspired by our reading of Odysseus’ spectacular exploits in The Odyssey.

This year Connor attended my Medieval Literature course, in which he was inspired to write a couple more poems: “Running Through the Forest,” inspired whilst reading The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood; and “When Sin Runs Rampant” is a work Connor composed while we were studying The Divine Comedy.

I hope you enjoy the work of Connor Rose, a young man of intellectual deftness, sensibility, and exceptional artistry.

Running through the Forest

I run through the forest,

I dash through the trees,

My food pack is light and

My stomach empty.

The leaves are above me,

The trunks all around.

The sounds of the wild

Reverb from the ground.

But I am not happy,

No I am not pleased.

The beautiful forest

Holds no charm for me.

My stomach is tight and

My throat is on fire.

The drum of my heart gets

Louder and Louder.

But now I can see, peep-

-ing out from the trees,

A light from a fire which

Means something to eat.

© Copyright by Connor Rose

All Rights Reserved

When Sin Runs Rampant

When sin runs rampant,

The signs aren’t hard to see.

The Gospel is suppressed, and

God is nothing but

The “Big man upstairs.”

These problems are very real;

They’r not just bedtime stories.

Yes, the major population-

The whole-the Human Race-

Is on a water slide to Hell.

The sin will seem like fun until you’re there.

Only one thing can save us now:

One person: Prophet, Priest and King.

Let us hope the world embraces him

Before it’s too late.

© Copyright by Connor Rose

All Rights Reserved