Say that the men of the old black tower,
Though they but feed as the goatherd feeds,
Their money spent, their wine gone sour,
Lack nothing that a soldier needs,
That all are oath-bound men:
Those banners come not in.
There in the tomb stand the dead upright,
But winds come up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
Those banners come to bribe or threaten,
Or whisper that a man’s a fool
Who, when his own right king’s forgotten,
Cares what king sets up his rule.
If he died long ago
Why do you dread us so?
There in the tomb drops the faint moonlight,
But wind comes up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
The tower’s old cook that must climb and clamber
Catching small birds in the dew of the morn
When we hale men lie stretched in slumber
Swears that he hears the king’s great horn.
But he’s a lying hound:
Stand we on guard oath-bound!
There in the tomb the dark grows blacker,
But wind comes up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine.
Melissa –
I got the Imp, and now I’m hooked. It’s a sweet and clean smell, and the honeyed ginger stands out prominently.
Of course I’m hooked just in time for it to be out of stock…
gmr2broadway –
As others have noted, the description of the fragrance notes does NOT capture this smell. It’s like… a piece of candied ginger between the lips of a heavily powdered woman holding Play Doh and wearing an Arabian perfume. There is ginger, and a touch of sweet. There is powder, but it wasn’t overwhelming on my skin. There is that… salty and floury scent of, yes, Play Doh. And the slightest undernote of something exotic.
Honestly, I liked it, a lot. It sat well on my skin, and I had the faintest notes still there 10mhours later. That said, you had to press your nose to my wrist to smell it, even 5 minutes after applying. It is not a perfume that travels to others, which might make it perfect for work.
james_the_saint –
I got this as a sample and I have to say I’m really surprised by the description. I vaguely smell milk in this after it was pointed out, but my first thought was this smells like a gin cocktail, maybe a gimlet. I might be crazy, but it’s still a nice fragrance. I won’t wear it myself so I don’t know about the staying power.