Man of Iron, Man of Green

I've always been fond of Gawain. He's overshadowed by Lancelot in most of the stories, but being No. 2, I think he tried harder. At least, that's my read.

And then there's the Green Knight. In the earliest version we know of, he's not just a knight in green armor: he's green-fleshed and carries a bough of holly. Perhaps he's some forest or vegetation spirit, taken up into what has become a heavily Christianized myth cycle. Fits well with the death-by-beheading/resurrection motif.

(Please note, I'm making no assertions here about origin or appropriation: this is an exercise in poetic imagination, not scholarship, and it's very dangerous to confuse the two.)

Um. Adult content ahead. Read the poem.

Available! High-Voltage Lines, Knocking from Inside