Challenging Poetry

Malaysia: Batik

who can escape the wrath of kings?
the story goes—
and it is a good story—
a sultan asked his champion
(as a king would send a knight
who loved his daughter on a quest
against impossible odds)
for one hundred forty lengths
of cloth, each waxed
and painted and dyed
so that forty flowers grew—
a garden of fabric.

and the champion looked
and despaired, for he could not
find it in India
or Malaysia or all points between,
so he bought cloth
and wax and dye
and made his own,
painting flowers upon flowers
until the commission was fulfilled
and journeyed home.

but the gods are cruel,
and his ship sank, with all but
four lengths, and the sultan was angry—
and there the legend ends.
but what of the bride price?
and what the fate of the man
who failed in his quest?
and what of the four lengths that remained,
sitting in the sultan’s house,
their maker punished.

line count: 32

Author's Note ▶︎

The legend that I drew from is as I wrote it, although the champion involved was a leader against the Portuguese.
http://melayumalaya.blogspot.com/2011/04/batik-malaysia.html