Sic Transit Gloriana Nostre

Cherry

By Ewan

Mon, 19 Sep 2022
  • 1414 reads
12 comments
 

    Let’s talk of Bill’s graves, worms and epitaphs:

long lies the corpse, at the end of the line.

   The crowd passes by in single file,

the great and the good jump the queue E II.

   Those unmoved switch the channel in vain.

 
And yet, there is substance in ritual and rigmarole,

    we bade farewell to all those recently lost

in less than splendid isolation, with rites so limited:

   perhaps this circumstantial pomp will help

those who grieved alone, as our modern Gloriana did.

Certificate U
Poem
Gathered Flowers
Miscellaneous

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

I've come back to this (very good, moving and will strike a chord with many) poem several times and am still scratching my head Ewan. Who is Bill?

 

Submitted by Ewan on

Shakespeare. The line is a slight paraphrase of one in Richard II:
"Let's talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs"
I came across it the other day, when I was looking for something else.

 

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Thanks Ewan!

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Your last line, about her grieving alone, I think sums up why even those of the republican tendency, like me, feel rather as though the last adult has left the building. I wasn't her biggest fan, but at least she 'did her bit' and, although the institution represents some of the worst aspects of our national past and present, she could be relied on to turn up, do the job in hand and not make an idiot of herself. Such people are increasingly rare. 

 

 

Submitted by Ewan on

in all walks of life, I'm afraid.

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by marandina on

Whatever your stance on monarchy v republic.. .Queen Elizabeth II was seen to have had "integrity". A quality respected by many and so rare and difficult to find in those in power.  And one of the reasons so many have felt moved to queue in London is an affinity with a similar experience of their own. Few have connected in quite the same way as this lady did.. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

I'm very glad Charles survived to grow up and have children, or that would have been a bit embarrassing just now. But I don't believe at the moment our society is capable of choosing anyone decent to be in charge. The Queen was decent, Charles is decent, so is William. No one seems to be remembering that Mrs Thatch and the Queen did not get on, one reason being because the Queen was wanting an end to the racist way South Africa was being run. I bet she was also concerned about the unhappiness of the inequality the government set in train here. I remember reading articles then, in my mum's Telegraph about how it was time for a Republic. With the current version of government I do not know how Charles, being someone aware and concerned about environment, inequality etc will cope with having to sit there with the most powerful person in the land and not say anything. I couldn't.

I felt so sorry for the queen, when her husband died. she carried on much longer than I thought she would, it must have been so lonely not having him to share funny things with

 

Submitted by David Kirtley on

I enjoyed your poem Ewan. You make the comparison between those lost in recent times whose funerals were with limited rites and isolated, and this massive pomp and circumstance, which perhaps makes up for the recent times. You make the point very well.

Perhaps we look to the monarchy as a source of stability and hoped for decency in a world of economic experiments, and political and social uncertainty. The Queen did seem to represent that to many of us.

Submitted by Ewan on

The Monarchy, as it did all those years ago, when Elizabeth ascended to the throne, stands at a crossroads of history. Just as the Empire morphed into the Commonwealth, whilst Great Britain became the UK and the country's influence diminished, the Commonwealth will change drastically as nations leave or decline to have Charles as their head of state. Meanwhile, our global influence from outside the EU will continue to be much less than it was in it.

Military people, who are in general supporters of The Monarchy - although I am not by any means wholehearted in that respect - are well aware of just how special "The Special Relationship" isn't.

Just as television transformed the way we viewed "The Firm", the internet will exacerbate, or has ignited, the bonfire of seething resentment burning in the hearts of "Team Harry" and "Team Wills":  some people will glue themselves to Buck House demanding Harry is returned to the fold or even made heir, whilst others will wrap themselves in the Union Flag demanding the Meghan and Harry be exiled to TV Sofa land in California sine die. Both sides, as you will note, will be showing a massive ignorance of, on the one hand, the law of succession and, on the other, the legal process of denying anyone access to the UK.

Another personal view is that Charles will be a transitional King. I cannot believe he has the stomach to maintain the mystique of The Monarchy by keeping his mouth shut and his opinions unheard. I am sure that the strain of trying will see him abdicate, or off. 

Both King Charles and the new Prince of Wales have expressed a desire for reform of "The Firm", let's hope they make a serious effort to bring that about. After all, our constitutional monarchy, lacking in real power in all but a few - very important - matters of procedure, is the only thing standing between us and a President Truss. With our current PM, I am utterly convinced she will drive the ship of state onto the rocks whilst staring at the iceberg.

I wish our new King and his family luck, they'll need it.

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

and the importance of the monarchy. I was in Australia when they had the last vote for a republic. Despite an almost majority the people voted to keep the Queen as head of state. Talking to people there it seemed they felt better the devil you know. Bush being president of the US at the time helped I think. Not sure what will happen next time. With so many blatently currupt and right wing populist leaders about the result will be hard to call. 

If the UK was to choose to be a republic any time soon certainly Boris the spider (Trump GB!) will be up for it. 

And the prospect of the real Trump getting elected in '24 really give me the willies.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou, David, I had missed that meaning, of her funeral being a symbolic mourning for all those lost to the pandemic. Sort of the opposite of the unknown soldier? Everyone comes together to celebrate the life of a figurehead, to stand in for all the people who died without family in care homes and hospitals. Perhaps Ewan described the most important roll a monarch can have. There has been lots of talk of "sacrifice" maybe it is as deep as that, that need for the terribleness of death to make things  straight for those remaining. Not sure terribleness is a word. Just as her father's death after the war. But Charles is not photogenic, energetic, young as she was.  He is a grandfather continually talking of his mother, bobbing in her wake. He has been set up over the years as a loony whinger, probably helped by interests vested in maintaining reliance on fossil fuels etc. As it is known he disagrees with everything Liz Truss wants to do,  will big business and Tory leadership and the press who love aggro all conspire to make him the scapegoat for what is coming, a created catharsis, and push him out? I wonder if there would have been The Queue if the Queen had passed soon after Diana? Amazingly she pulled through that time, turned people's views right round.  He doesn't have the decades she did, to overcome doubts of his right to be ruler. I think the country is very lucky to have an environmentalist king, a lone voice at the top trying to make sure there is a country at all in a future of climate change. 

 

Submitted by Penny4athought on

The ritual, the outpouring of feelings, the ending of a long reign. It was amazing to watch the massive crowds that gathered. The Queen was an ever present steady hand and I admired her ability to carry on with demands and traditions. I cannot imagine how, at the age of 96, she found the strength to do so. She will be fondly remembered.

Penny4athought