The blasted blindfold’s been removed,
I can see ev’ryone around—
Their hidden faces preapproved—
Not a peep, they stare with no sound.
My love for Edie is profound—
A sword points to my chest, unmoved—
We’d be hitched, but I lost that ground;
The blasted blindfold’s been removed.
Disinheritance, been reproved
For failing my father—renowned—
Would harm her campaign, now approved.
I can see ev’ryone around—
There, Chesterfield Morgan...dad...bound;
A crowd of white-veiled faces moved—
Edith Kennedy there, no sound—
Their hidden faces preapproved.
General Hedgebet had long groomed
Me to join the White Band—power found—
My chances for Edith: improved.
Not a peep, they stare with no sound.
My dad, hotel magnate, there bound—
“You’ve said the vows and are approved,”
Edie’s, not Hedgebet’s, voice then drowned
The room—“Kill him! Have him removed!”—
The blasted blindfold.
© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
First published on tristanrobertlange.com, October 12, 2026.
Tittu
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Coming this Macabre Monday:
DEVILISHLY DREADFUL
The Wild Kids of America; or,
The Children of Fright
on October 19, 2026
-
Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: October 12th, 2026 08:09
- Comment from author about the poem: This is the fifth part of Season 2 in my series, Devilishly Dreadful. For Macabre Monday. Inspired by Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s The Black Band; or, The Mysteries of Midnight, this rondeau redoublé reimagines the novel’s secret criminal society within the political and institutional machinery of present-day America.
- Category: Gothic
- Views: 9
- In collections: Devilishly Dreadful: A Macabre Monday Series.
Offline)
Comments4
I'm scared of Mondays now! Is Popeye? lol.
LOL! Orchi, Popeye's barricaded himself inside a spinach glughouse. Olive's outside demanding an explanation, Obi-Wan's negotiating with the landlord, and somebody's slipped a mysterious white envelope under the door! 🎭🗡️🤍🙏
Not familiar with that novel Tristan but the ominous feel comes through it the poem dark and almost gothic in nature most appropriate for this time of year and for governments we have.
LOL! Soren, I sometimes wonder whether Braddon would be delighted or horrified by what I've done with her material. Perhaps both! And given the current state of affairs, I'm not sure our modern villains would even bother wearing disguises! Thanks, my friend! 🎭🗡️🤍🙏
The greatest disguises now days are one of a politician and another of the media. You are most welcome Tristan
You sir T have certainly found your forte .. Count me in .. 🖤🏴🐦⬛😎🐈⬛⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐👍
Sir Neville, welcome aboard! LOL! Just a word of caution: never trust the conductor, don't sign anything in blood, and whatever you do, don't accept a complimentary blindfold! Delighted you're enjoying the madness, my friend! 🎭🗡️🤍🙏
Powerful work, my friend. There’s a claustrophobic sense of fate here, with the removed blindfold revealing not freedom but a silent audience of family, power brokers, and veiled faces who seem to have already decided the speaker’s future. The final interruption—Edie’s voice demanding his removal just as the vows are pronounced—turns the repeated lines into a trap snapping shut, leaving the poem suspended between the promise of love and the machinery of approval that has swallowed it whole.
LOL! Thomas, I think I've discovered that a rondeau redoublé makes a rather effective instrument of literary torture, particularly for the poor fellow who has to write one! 😂 Seriously, though, I appreciate your careful reading and generous encouragement, my friend. Thank you! 🎭🗡️🤍🙏
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