in my youth, despite
glamour, romance and tragedy.
Elizabeth was my hero:
brave, intelligent Queen
who wrote poems, loved pirates.
But in Edinburgh,
seeing that grim black rock
overshadowing your palace,
I thought of a 17-year-old
fresh from the court of France
with its dancing and dressing up.
Myself, I thrilled to Edinburgh
and the great rock –
yet I almost understood.
[Poem #62]
Shared 20/9/2020 with Writers' Pantry #38 : Ominous Times at Poets and Storytellers United.
Comment from original posting:
ReplyDeletePearl 7 November 2008 at 06:36
neat. common geography can bring understanding sometimes.
Often our upbringing changes the person you could have been. (P.S. You asked about the Covid cartoon. I just clicked on it twice for it to double its size and clearly too!)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin, but it was Magaly who asked that. I'll make sure she sees your advice.
DeleteIt often takes a sense of place to help complete our picture of a person, Rosemary. I like the repetition of ‘rock’ to evoke the granite city.
ReplyDeleteI have a photo of that big, flat one looming over Holyrood palace, but it didn't translate well to computer.
DeleteAh Rosemary... As a Scot myself, it was of course the romance of Mary's all too brief life that seduced me! The irony being that I now live in the south of England, close to the grandeur of several historic stately homes, like Ashridge and Hatfield, where Elizabeth spent much of her gilded youth, before ascending to the throne for what turned out to be a defining age in the history of our nation. Thanks for your write, which prompted me back to this fascinating and enthralling story...
DeleteWe seldom fully understand other people's drivers until we dig deeper. Nicely captured.
ReplyDeleteportrait of a rather misunderstood historical figure. not easy to flesh out a person in so little words, but you did. i was thinking, the poem, these words were what she was thinking when she was about to be executed. the last line told me.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that at such a time, her thoughts would indeed have roved back over all her life.
DeleteWhy dress up when you can climb a rock? :)
ReplyDeleteAh, that particular one does not look very climbable.
DeleteLove this idea of honoring influences and the surprise at yours being queens!
ReplyDeleteOnly some of them. (Grin.) But I do love history.
DeleteMary didn't have the easiest of times. Elizabeth got all the power (and the great advisors), and Mary got stuck with being a consort and having people who didn't always have her best interest at heart. Misunderstood, indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how physical place can anchor our ideas of life. Empathy shifts as we grow, too.
ReplyDeleteMy Darling Youngest is 17... dang, that was sobering when I thought about it. It made me think a bit of how much fun they had pre-pandemic, and how much has changed since then.
ReplyDeleteYou took us all back to that time and place, Rosemary, and did it well, as always!
ReplyDeleteA reminder of the tragic story of Mary. It would seem that way for most of the royal courts of that era. Even still, if you think about it.
ReplyDeleteAh yes Elizabeth was more in my reading presence growing up. T&T before independence was a British colony
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my sumie Sunday, Rosemary
Muchđź’ślove
Always have felt sorry for Mary. She had a bad run on the rails.Nicely structured poem.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully penned, Mary did not have all the advantages that Elizabeth had.
ReplyDeleteWell, in childhood I think the advantages were the other way around. But yes, as adults Mary's position was more precarious.
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