I started this ballad as a quick evening write to cheer up a friend who was worried about her daughter’s youthful daring. Once she was home safe and sound I decided to send her on a bit of an adventure and wrote it in instalments when the next part came to me. The ending took me by surprise, but it wouldn’t be a real adventure if it didn’t!
Lizzie's Search - A Modern Ballad
It came upon a frightful night,
The wind it howleth loud and wild,
And Lizzie, the warmest mother e'er,
Sat fretting for her wayward child.
Her daughter, young and wild at heart,
Was looking out for new romances,
But as she liveth in the sticks
She did it taking mighty chances.
Her suitor rode no horse nor chariot,
He didn't dress a gentleman;
He didn't ask her mother's leave,
But drove her off in his big van.
Our Lizzie sat with heart in hand
And waiteth by the window cold;
Her knitting needles clicking loud,
Afearing for her daughter bold.
As darkness crept across the land,
Lizzie could no longer fight;
Her heart was tired, her eyes gave in
And closed with the approaching night.
Her sleep was fitful, full of dreams
Of what was happening to her child;
She woke with a start, knew deep inside
She must go into the night so wild.
But alas, her car was not in order,
The brakes were failing, the steering tight;
So all she had to aid her search
Was a rusty bike with flickering light.
She dusted off her rusty steed
And pumped its tires full of air;
Then she set off into the night -
Fearing what she'd discover there.
She rode it fast o'er every hill,
Ignoring tiredness and pain;
The only thought across her mind
Was finding Bessie sweet again.
She finally came to a dark wood
And saw the van a bit ahead;
But all was dark, the lights were off,
And Lizzie's heart it filled with dread.
She hid her bike in a deep ditch
And ventured forth towards the van;
But as she feared it empty sat,
With neither daughter nor the man.
She gathered up her courage frayed
And ventured in amongst the trees;
Her nerves as rickety as her light,
And keeping still her trembling knees.
As she got deep into the wood,
Her light it flickered, then it died;
She stood alone in the deep dark,
Her courage failed and she just cried.
She knew she couldn’t linger here,
So treading warily, she crept ahead;
With tears astreaming down her cheek,
Her legs as heavy as pipes of lead.
She inched along as best she could,
The forest thickened, darkness grew;
She heard strange sounds from all around,
Creatures round her closer flew.
The branches ripped her woollen clothes
And roots were often in her way;
But the only care in Lizzie's heart
Was finding Bessie all okay.
It seemed like hours she had searched
And instead of finding she was lost;
She saw with sudden clarity
Just what her rashness might have cost.
She was like rooted to the spot,
Her final drop of courage died,
She sank onto her knees and prayed
She could have Bessie by her side.
She finally seemed to get a break
As pitch black morphed to shades of grey,
And trees around her shadows cast,
With the dawning of the day.
Then from afar she heard a sound,
Like voices rising into song;
She slowly got up from her knees
And walked towards the rising dawn.
She soon upon a clearing came
Where people were all dressed in white;
All stood in circles, holding hands,
And singing in the new day’s light.
They welcomed her into their midst
And soothed her soul with healing sound;
She closed her eyes as tears welled up:
She was now safe, she had been found.
When finally the singing stopped,
She was offered drink and food;
She chatted to her new-found friends
And thought that everything was good.
It was only then she realised
She had her search for Bessie failed;
Her chest got tight, her head got light,
She saw her friends had her derailed.
They tried to hold her, but she fought
And with a mighty scream she leapt;
She circled round, ran to the trees,
Cried while she through the bracken crept.
She ran and stumbled through the wood -
In daylight it was safe and clear;
She quickly got back to the edge,
But found the van was nowhere near.
She gathered up her rusty steed,
Almost too tired to further go,
And started on her journey back,
Whilst fearing what she didn't know.
When finally she got back home,
She found the van was parked outside;
The man emergeth, dressed in white
With Bessie, singing, by his side.
© Saraphir Camille Legind
© Saraphir Camille Legind