The Laughing Masque
written by: Dee Allen
Being a pretender, his nightly streetbound task.
For tossed coins, he backflipped and played a part.
Caught the eye of royalty–the man with the laughing masque
Bestowed pleasant warmth to her heart.
Next day, a handwritten note was sent
To him, of confessed infatuation–he had to be hers!
Why call on a lowly actor whose mouth was rent
Under a butcher’s knife as a boy? His facial curse.
Day after next, the Wapentake–a silent lawman–came,
Pointed his sceptre, escorted Gwynplaine to Southwark Prison.
Instead of a criminal charge for which he’d take blame,
The judge awakened him from a poor man’s dream. Not what he’d envisioned!
Message in a found bottle–key to Gwynplaine’s past:
Son of an exiled lord, kidnapped on an enemy king’s order alone,
Then into a snowy wasteland he was cast–
Stunned by the revelation–he’s rightful heir to England’s throne!
Acceptance of his new title, aglow with praise.
One glance into a mirror & he took his ever-grinning self to task.
Regardless of new clothes, wealth & a castle with a maze,
He’ll always be a curiosity–the man with the laughing masque.
Duchess Josiana lured the new lord into her bed-chamber–
Last seen acting in a play, for tossed coins and laughter he’d sown.
When ordered to marry him, she snapped in anger
And pleasant warmth dissolved, her heart colder than stone.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Inspired by the 1869 novel “The Man Who Laughs” by Victor Hugo.
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