Beautiful Bones

Posted by Bradene on August 7, 2009 - 17:11
from the ABC set A Tribute to...

If it were possible,
if by some miracle his bones were found,
how would they look?

Would they be soft and white?
The colour and consistency of mud?
What does water do to bones?

They wouldn’t have lain
where they had been so carelessly tossed
by the treacherous rabble who called themselves Englishmen.

They would have drifted,
been pulled along by an undertow
to some unknowable destination.

At first after the infamy of his death,
he had rested briefly beneath marble and alabaster
at Greyfriars in Leicester.

Then during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
his poor desecrated body was torn
from its resting place, and cast into the River Soar

If they could be looked upon,
only beautiful bones would be revealed;
for it was Holbein’s brush, Shakespeare’s pen
and Tudor lies that deformed him.

Discuss this piece in the abctales forum

Comments

I think the three line and final four line structure works really well here Val! The last stanza is brilliant!

Magic xxx

Thanks Magic. appreciate your comments very much. Valx

I really enjoyed this one. I agree with Magic; the structure is brilliant and the imagery is wonderful. As always, well done.

Nathan.

Very, very good; particularly liked the last stanza.

Chris ;)

Lovely. I agree with all the comments above - that last stanza is remarkable.

Thank you Nathan, I always value your opinions and comments. Val x

Thanks Chris, Glad you appreciated it. Val x

Thanks so much Sikander for reading and your appreciative comments. Val x

Congrats on the well deserved cherry. I came back to read this one again; it will not be my last visit. Class!

Wonderful poem, Val;-) And very well done on the much-deserved cherry.

Tina xx

Worth the struggle, after all. :-)

I enjoyed this one.

Thanks again Chris. Val x

Thanks Tina, will be in touch soon Love Val x

Thanks Ewan, your kind words helped me clear my head. (-; Val