Elizabeth

Nobody has ever loved you.
Not your father ,
Who wanted you to be his son.

Your mother could not possibly love you.
She paid the price for your audacity,
How dare were you born the way you were.

Your rebels did not stop inside the womb.
You read and read and wrote and wrote,
Learned.

Knowledge gave you freedom
Of the mind and the faith,
You could flow against the tide
and dance amidst the rain.

Passion , Amore arose in you,
Made you weak for a time
But Fate had other plans for you,
As you were put in exile.

But times had started to change,
Your stars shining bright
As your kin became dimmer,
Your sun was in broad daylight.

You were never a game player
With in experiences abound,
Yet you learned so fast that
You surprised all your peers.

They all despised you,
Hated you for your faith
They tricked and treaded you,
But you still held your gait.

When love and trust played games with you,
You wondered what was wrong
You thought of breaking apart
But instead chose to be strong.

You assumed responsibility of your fellows,
Forgot you were not a man
It is not the love for one that would set you free
But was the love for all.

Swords clashed and treasures swelled,
You scorched the Irish and the Spain
Made friends with barbarians and Ivans,
As time passed in vain.

Age made amity with you,
Your body grew weary of thee
Loveless and Manless your heart remained,
Strength and grit started to flee.

Time fell asleep onto your right
As you sat alone in the dark,
Death started lurking over your left shoulder
While Putti dispelled the reigning monarch.

O you were never understood,
Nor were you ever cared
Love & lovers remained a foreign subject
Who with you always tared.

A thousand you's were born before
A thousand you's came after,
The story remained same for all of them
They all are a sad chapter.

I wonder when the bell will ring
The door of darkness closes,
Amidst a barren, desert land
There will be a garden of roses.

© Nothing Personal. November 01, 2010.

Reviews

[Dushyant Thadani]

Beautiful work. A reflection of many societies where a daughter is considered as a burden, and a son is yearned for throughout. Such works should reach out to these societies and should stop all the social issues like female infanticide. Great Work. Cheers and Thank You for writing this

[Misty Blue Eyes]

this is beautiful work i love it...i feel like her alot

[Nothing Personal]

@ Elizabeth: Oh so your Elizabeth too. Yah the poem is themed / loosely based on Queen Elizabeth but it goes out to many other women who have lived , rebelled and lived and left. Not many of us would like to remember or acknowledge but i would.
@ Dushyant: It is intended for such societies indeed. I know about female infanticide but disparity against women doesn't stop there. This is one to keep the fighting spirit high.
@ Sarah: Very encouraging review. THANK You..
@ Timid Wild One: Thanks a LOT. You are right about the references. It is heavily influenced.

[the in between]

These lines stood out to me the most:
Time fell asleep onto your right
As you sat alone in the dark,
Death started lurking over your left shoulder
While Putti dispelled the reigning monarch.

This was very compelling; I like your style of writing beginning to end :) keep up the great work. I value this type of character this Elizabeth was. Are you writing about Queen Elizabeth?

[Lichen Eyes]

oddly easy to relate to.

I love the language that you used,
as well as all the historical and literary references.
And I love that it has the pacing of a rhyming poem without actually having it rhyme.

[nothing]

This is a great write. You did such a good job on putting your words together and making a story out of this. Please keep doing these.

With Regards.
Sarah.

[.]

. yeah ... i know ... i can feel it ... i'm not as great as her ... but it's a battle to survive ... to cope ... and it hurts like hell ...

[Nothing Personal]

Thank You Serah for reading and commenting on Elizabeth. Shekar's work certainly inspired my writing but this poem extends to all Elizabeth's out there..

[.]

. ah, brilliant ... i've seen the film ... was made by one of my favourite indian directors ... she was amazing ... and yes ... never understood ...