**The Girls of Shalott:** ***A Soul Torn in Two*** He said, "She has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace, The Lady of Shalott". **I** Not so far later The day became greater, As two new births echoed and sang And the people felt a pang Of joy as new life was brought to Camelot. The birth brought two girls Adorned in ribbons and pearls And looked at lovingly by a mother she filled their hair with sweet curls. *The girls of Camelot.* **II** Girl one was quiet, Sweet, shy and wore dresses of violet. Girl two was pretty, Dandy, proper and quite petty. Miss pretty was adored all over Camelot. She had the voice so lovely A face and body so compositely Of a statue carved so delicately. *Miss pretty the favoured girl of Camelot.* Miss quiet liked to hide Her secrets, stories, ideas and face she would abide By her shadows of comfort where No one dared to enter there. The lonely girl of Camelot, Left alone to think Let her mind sink Where she wouldn’t miss a thing even if she should blink. *That lonely girl of Camelot.* **III** Miss pretty acted sweet, Cute, silent and meek as her hands clutched a sheet. A letter for her from another boy Who adored her face, voice and not to be coy, Wrote his love for this beauty of Camelot. Miss quiet just smiled At the sight like a child A sad girl who whiled *Time away so she could be an adored girl of Camelot.* Her smile hid her hate Miss pretty couldn’t take Any more keeping quiet And pretending to love the twin she considered a riot. That pathetic silent girl of Camelot. That girl so abandoned The pretty girl’s hate accessioned To the face of her being it blackened. *The darkened girl of Camelot.* Miss pretty could get away with anything, Even calling her sister evil and patronizing. Miss quiet had no hope to come through And say that the accusations were not so true. The troubled girl of Camelot. A group rushed through the town To drag the troubled girl down, Down and away as her parents simply showed a frown, *As she was taken to the tower Shalott.* **IV** The pretty girl tried To hide her pain, yet she cried. Half a being she was Torn in half from her own cause. The liar of Camelot. The people thought of her with love, Held her high and above As if she was a sacred dove. *The black heart of Camelot.* Her sister she missed Though Miss pretty hated her sister she would have kissed Her other half as she needed Her other part to be completed. The torn lives of Shalott. On a dark night Miss pretty walked out of sight And to end her violent fight *Drowned herself in the cold river of Camelot.* Her skin so pale Like that of an angel Floated to a spot near the shore And seen by the same handsome knight once more. Lancelot of Camelot. He said, "She has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace, *The girl of Camelot.”* ***Those two girls: The girls of Shalott.*** ~sadielizyy Works Consulted: Tennyson, Alfred Lord. “The Lady Of Shalott.”