Dungeon, Fire And Sword Poem by Marilyn Shepperson

If you were the king, then you would have led
Your men into battle. A target for the enemy
If you were the queen, then your only reason for living
Was to produce heirs to the throne
And even if you stayed at home
If someone wanted you dead
They would get you eventually
If you were a noble, you would ride with your king
To be captured for ransom
That might not be paid
Or a target alike for the enemies arrows
If a noblewoman staying at home
Your duty was the same as the queens
If a merchant you were reliant on others
Your ships could be lost at sea
Or there could be a bad harvest
And you would be left penniless
A merchant's wife ran the same risks as her husband
If a servant, whether male or female
You would work from before dawn till late
For a mere pittance in wages
Till you were too old to be of use
Then unless you were lucky
You'd be thrown out on the streets
And remember there was no welfare state
So you would be a beggar for what remained of your life
If a girl and you became pregant
Even if no fault of your's
Then again on the streets you be chucked
To cope as best you could and for the babe when it came
And if a peasant, your life was really hard
Whether man or woman, you worked in the fields
From dawn until dusk, living in a hovel
You'd receive no money, no better than a slave
Your lord owned you and all that you had
You were answerable to his every whim
And think of the diseases so rampant then
No cures or medicines worth anything
And what of the punishments meted out to all
It didn't matter if you were a man, woman or child
Rich or poor, you'd be teated the same
Even if you really were innocent
To get information or some other gain
No matter how much we may try
To romanticize that long ago era
The truth and the facts still remain
I know that I would not have liked to have lived
In that time of dungeon, fire and sword.