Mary Queen of Scots

An ode to a Queen

"Mary Queen of Scots"

Acceded to the throne at 6 days old

Mary Stuart, so bright, so bold

Spent most of your early life in France

With the Dauphin, led a merry dance

Married, then widowed in a short space of time

Returned to Scotland, hoping to shine

Alas your life was filled with danger and toil

with enemies such as Knox waiting to spoil

The reign of a Queen and a Catholic one too

Foes were many and friends they were few

Married Darnley whilst you were still grieving

You thought there was hope, always believing

But Darnley was selfish, arrogant and greedy

He fed himself whilst you fed the needy

When Darnely was murdered you had to flee

but was imprisoned in Leven next to sea

You managed to escape and planned to defend

Seeking refuge with Elizabeth, cousin not friend

She did not trust you and held you captive for years

and because of her unjust fears

you were sentenced to death, execution, so mean

Executioner tried three times to cut clean

Then your poor head did fall and you were no more

Your story cuts me to the very core

Betrayed by many, lived fighting each day

I hope in heaven you have an easier way

and everyone you meet there is loving and good

and you met up with Francais like you hoped you would

*********

Reviews

[emipoemi]

A poem for history buffs!! And a well-constructed one at that. If I may, however, there are a couple of notes I have on this: a minor one concerns spelling - it's "flee" you want not "flea" (the pesky insect). The other concerns musicality. You have an overall great musicality flowing through this tale, but it gets a tad wordy here and there, and there's an unnecessary repetition and an obscurity that needs to be dealt with as well. The unnecessary repetition is "France" in the line "Dauphin of France". As France is mentioned in the previous line, there's no need to repeat it in such close proximity - simply say the Dauphin, and then fill in the empty space so the musicality can flow smoothly onward. The obscurity is "he" to signify the executioner. Only the history buffs would come to that confirmed conclusion. Better to say "they" to make it more impersonal. Otherwise non-scholarly readers would be scratching their heads at that line. This is otherwise well done overall. Quite enjoyable and educational.

[KT-B]

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review, you are spot on - when I was typing "France" I was aware of how many times I was using it but that is excellent advice to simply say Dauphin - why did I not think of that? and "flea" doh! stupid error - the point about the executioner spot on too - I have now went in and corrected and I hope it reads better - thanks again, much appreciated :)

[emipoemi]

with pleasure. any time.

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Her life provided tragedy and romance, more dramatic than any legend. This write has summarised most eloquently the highlights of her historically important life. Mind you - Mary’s son became James I of England and VI of Scotland after Elizabeth’s death in 1603. :-)

[KT-B]

Yes her life was a struggle despite being born into Royalty - hard times and brutal at times - yes James became king after Elizabeth's death and reigned til his death age 58 he had Mary's body buried in a magnificent tomb - it's all too fascinating - I love learning the history of the monarchy - thanks for your additions to this, much appreciated :)

[keith]

clever write on a historic lady
good on you ... thanks

[KT-B]

Thank you, I find her a fascinating subject - glad you liked it :)