He was a golden prince
outshining his gentle elder brother
whom I braved England's shores to marry.
Courteous and duly hesitant
he bent his youthful splendour
to woo me for himself and assauge my lonely widowhood.
I loved him; eager to bear him sons
to secure his throne.
We have no son:
our one daughter survives
stillbirths and miscarriages
and my lord King's growing anger
at my unproductive womb.
I glowered with rage at Wolsey
and his cardinals who scoured their brains
to bring us to divorce.
I am old:
shrivelled with despair and unanswered prayers.
The new queen has birthed - a daughter.
Will she give him a son
in an apprehension of fear
or will he take another wife
as he lumps and thickens with disease and age?
No more a golden prince.
Author notes
In his play Shakespeare gives Katherine a wonderfully searing sentence on which I pinned this poem. Faced with Wolsey and the cardinals who seek her divorce, she looks at them and says "Ye turn me into nothing; woe upon me".
A contest entry
- #157 Shakespearean Characters: for Winklings & Allpoetry. by Lyndon.
1750 points, ended February 4, 4 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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Hey, Old Friend. Haven't seen you in a while. I had a poem in the snow contest. Turns out the King was selecting the genders, not the wives. Women get blamed too much...
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Henry VIII
Katharine is more ennobled by her ancient faith than by all the titles she has lost. You gave a confessional attribution to your character and reflected the bullishness of a six foot high King of then stately bearing.
Thank you for a conscientious effort.
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Some haunting turns of phrase here. "Shrivelled with dispair" implies the Queen's barren state very well.
It has a sense of history about it - and literature. I am really impressed.
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Congratulations! A most original, interesting, moving and eloquent poem. It is good to see your work again!
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I was hoping to e-mail you but it won't accept my code at present. So this will have to do. Thank you for your welcome comments. 2008 wasn't a good year for me for several reasons including the fact that my muse took a long holiday! I hope to be writing more this year.
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