Two verses come to mind today. One is Phillip Larkin's four-line tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. I can't easily find when it was written but I know it was in his later years, before his death in 1985:
In times when nothing stood
But worsened, or grew strange,
There was one constant good:
She did not change.
The other is a verse from "The Mountains of Mourne" by Percy French, one that always makes me a bit dewy-eyed. The song is in the form of a letter home from an Irish emigrant to London:
I've seen England's king from the top of a bus
And I've never known him, but he means to know us.
And tho' by the Saxon we once were oppressed,
Still I cheered, God forgive me, I cheered with the rest.
And now that he's visited Erin's green shore
We'll be much better friends than we've been heretofore
When we've got all we want, we're as quiet as can be
Where the Mountains o' Mourne sweep down to the sea.
RIP Queen Elizabeth II. God save King Charles III, and long may his line continue.
Dear Maolsheachlann,
ReplyDeleteFrom one who has been privileged to be her subject, thank you for your kind condolences on the loss of our good, our great, our beloved Queen. It is a very hard loss indeed, for all that she did her best to prepare us, and for all that we trust in the good Lord to welcome her into Heaven. My condolences to you, too, as I know how much you admired her.
Thank you too for the two beautiful poems.
Dominic
You're welcome, Dominic, and thanks for the comment. I can tell you the reaction in Ireland was almost universally similar to the reaction in Britain. Yes, I hugely admired her, as did my father. Sorry for the late reply, very busy weekend.
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