
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.
POET’S NOTE:
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.
© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.

This Macabre Monday
Devilishly Dreadful:
The Wild Kids of America; or,
The Children of Fright
Monday, October 19, 2026

Now Available
Devilishly Dreadful: A Macabre Monday Series, Season 1 on Vinyl
Perfect spooky Halloween entertainment for age-appropriate family and friends. Recommended for ages 16+

© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.


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