Three Poems In Tribute To Mr. William Shakespeare
Kingdom Come ( ... Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2; Henry V.)
Steady
Henry, once known as Hal,
Can taste the tang of power now,
His
father, Henry, waits at death’s portal,
To pay, soon, the
dues of any mortal.
But
Henry who will be the Fifth
Wields cunning that cuts to the
pith
Of how one rules in parlous times,
Ignoring, coldly,
midnight’s chimes.
In
corridors where darkness reigns,
A nation’s
conscience sits in chains
While monks chant solemn tropes of
gall
And ravens answer, caw to call.
Tonight, the shuttered
kingdom broods
As pious fools fling platitudes;
And Henry
strokes his father’s crown,
Wiping muck from his mourner’s
gown.
Forcast ( ... Twelfth Night)
There
shall be no more cakes and ale,
The pantry's shuttered, the
taverns let,
And all our dreams grow stiff and pale.
No
matter how much beggars wail
About the little that they get,
There
shall be no more cakes and ale.
We'll munch on promise, dull
and stale,
And wash it down with spare regret
As all our dreams
grow stiff and pale.
The whores all go to take the veil,
The
sheets they bartered tear and fret;
And there shall be no more
cakes and ale.
Their
clients spin
their own sad tale,
About the noose of unpaid debt
While all
our dreams grow stiff and pale.
The future shrivels, the powers
fail,
We haven't seen the worst days yet;
There shall be no
more cakes and ale,
For all our dreams grow stiff and pale.
Of
Fools and Kings
( .... any of the plays where fools and/or kings play a
central role.
King Lear is perhaps the best example)
On
some heads sit the shaky crowns,
On others sit the cap and
bells;
The pages turn, the cruel chance abounds
Blood is drawn
as intrigue swells.
The king demands the fool’s raw
jests
To mute the murmurs of deep fear;
Each fool knows these
are solemn tests,
Each smile too close to a sneer.
But
wisdom is a silent force,
While power bellows to excess.
The
royals take the reckless course;
The fools all grin, and then
digress.
Last
act: the fools alone survive,
Afloat on wisdom’s firm
resolve.
Racked kings must take what fates contrive,
And watch
as heartless worlds revolve.
***
Copyright 2018, Richard A. Lord
Richard Lord has written or co-written over 20 books, including two chapbooks of poetry. He has also had dozens of his plays and theatrical sketches professionally produced. He co-wrote, co-directed and acted in a two-man Shakespeare anthology show, A Kingdom For A Stage, which was produced and co-directed by Frank T. Smith.
