Mayerling (1)

The Tragedy of Mayerling

In January, eighteen eighty-nine,
disaster struck the Austrian court, and since
that day, we've wondered how the handsome prince
(one Rudolf) and his teenage concubine

came both to die. A mystery which taxes
the best of Europe's brains is long past solving.
A story of illicit love, involving
the need to smash down bedroom doors with axes

will always fascinate. The girl was found
in bed, quite dead. Prince Rudolf at her side
was sitting in a chair. It seems he died
of gunshot wounds. Blood -- clotted, matted, browned
-- extended its congealing cataract
down to the floor. Perhaps a suicide pact? 

Author's Note

Mayerling -- At the remote Mayerling hunting lodge, on January 30, 1889, two young people’s lives were extinguished. Crown Prince Rudolf, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his young lover, Countess Mary Vetsera, died in circumstances which have never been properly explained.
with axes - Access was gained to the locked bedroom by servants breaking down the door with axes.

This suite of four poems will explore what happened at Mayerling.