I
Do I move through stone walls? No
I glide within them -- a shaft
of gleaming satin. Sometimes
you hear my gown rustle, sometimes not.
But I have heard many
confuse my reign with
hers -- Bloody Mary
first daughter of the heretic king.
Both queens, we shared the same name
and faith. Close to the breast, we held
a crucifix, our secret letters and sins, a lover's head,
( My brave James of
Bothwell.)
Yet, the killings were hers. Pikes and swords
moved from field to town, stained
barn and tower scarlet. My hands were clean;
they clutched heather.
II
its lords and ladies lick dust? Perhaps,
but at one point, I also shared with her
the most grievous sigh - the womb
befallen to an empty bowl. Hers
held the belief of a child
that stopped the menses, swelled the belly
until her condition waned
in truth. Nothing was
there --
except the shadow of want.
Mine broke into sudden spasms
then blood. The twins' pulse
fell silent, their
presence left
as pale moths to gnaw
holes in my voice. And I sobbed
killing the light.
_________________________________
Notes-- This
poem was written in the voice of Mary
Stewart, Queen of Scotland , reflecting on how her legacy is different
than that of her English cousin, Mary
Tudor, first daughter of Henry the eighth. The latter was called "Bloody Mary" because her
brief reign on the English throne oversaw numerous persecution/ deaths of
protestant clergymen, scholars and rebels. Though her father had separated from
The Catholic Church in Rome ,
proclaiming himself the head of the nation' s church, she tried to restore Catholicism
to the country and its people by force. She married late in life and was
desperate to conceive a male heir to keep her half sister, Elizabeth the First, from ascending the throne after her death. In
her late thirties, married to Philip of
Spain, she thought she was finally pregnant. All the signs were there,
ceased menstruation, swollen abdomen, morning sickness etc. However, in time,
her physical symptoms diminished and her body returned to its normal state. It
was declared a false pregnancy.
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