The Trial of the Warlock

 

THE TRIAL OF THE WARLOCK

It was said at trials of Men,
The Law allows the accused to say naught,
And plead nothing, even then,
But the Warlock was summoned,
In his defence, to propound that which falls in his ken

When called, he stood proud and swore his faith,
Not a yard the faithful old man gave,
The men of the Law condemned him,
And urged the court to apprehend him,
But the Warlock resisted the naifs

"Why do you blaspheme 'gainst the Lord?", the prosecutor harangued,
"I hold to the Old Faith, that which is true", put it the Warlock surely,
And as he said this he grew,
Scandalised, his interlocutor,
Screamed to the gaggle,
Who looked toward the Heavens, gripped their beads and swore,
To their monster, Babylon's Whore