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Like most things in Arthurian legend, there are dozens of different versions of the Fisher King story. I probably have some amalgamation of them in my mind, mixed up with vague memories of that 80’s film Excalibur. But basically the Fisher King is the wounded keeper of the grail, and it’s often told that his wound was inflicted as punishment for philandering. As the king’s health worsens, his kingdom becomes a wasteland too until, of course, he’s saved by some knight or other.

Anyway, I was thinking about how hard it is to start healing when you’ve broken someone else’s heart. Sometimes the wound you suffer is the wound you inflict upon another, so you’re helpless to heal yourself until that person is well on their way. In the meantime you just keep staring at your reflection in that giant cup of guilt. Drink up!

lyrics

Have you heard the tale of the king
Who was wounded by some betrayal
And how wasting away in the darkness he guards the grail
While everything good seems to fade
Despite all the plans that he’d made
But he won’t let it go or forgive
The one awful thing that he most needs to live
Well, he’s empty and cold
But at least he’s got the cup
And his fisher king wound is the thing he won’t give up

Now I’ve heard it said so much it sounds cliché
That you can’t know true love until you have thrown it away
Now that I’ve broken your heart
Now that I’ve torn us apart
Do I want you back ‘cause you’re gone?
Do I want you back ‘cause you’re moving on?
I thought we were through, but now I feel it too,
How my fisher king wound is the one I gave to you

If you know that inside me there’s doubt and fear and pain
Then I’m guessing for you it’s probably the same
Well, I know we both were betrayed
The moment I first felt afraid that something so strong can’t be true
So to hide from myself and from you I withdrew
Now my fisher king wound’s the kind I can’t conceal
‘cause I feel it cut deeper the more that your heart heals
and I thought we were through but now I feel it too
how my fisher king wound was the one I gave to you

credits

from The Great Make Believer, released March 11, 2016

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Chris Robley Lewiston, Maine

"Chris Robley is at the top of his game with his new work." - KCRW

Maine-based singer/songwriter and award-winning poet Chris Robley (formerly from Portland, Oregon) performs orchestral indie-pop and fractured folk reminiscent of John Lennon, John Vanderslice, Harry Nilsson, and Joe Henry.

His poetry has appeared in POETRY Magazine, Prairie Schooner, and many other journals. ... more

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