Sonnet 2: "I have seen queens on high and distant thrones"
My second attempt at an Elizabethan sonnet, from many years ago while I was living in Northshield. In admiration of Her Grace (then Excellency), Elizabeth von Kulmbach, at the conclusion of her first reign.
I have seen queens on high and distant thrones
Whose beauty, like December sunlight’s rays,
Would shame the spark and fire of precious stones,
But leave their subjects freezing in their gaze.
Yet under Northshield’s wintry, iron sky
I did not have to seek or pray for fire.
Your token for my words, your smiling eye
Some spark in me did nurture and inspire.
You, all the while, a double burden bore
With life inside, you led our land unswayed.
Your crown’s been passed, your daughter all adore,
Now Winter Queen, delight in what you’ve made.
A rosebud skipping through the court does bring
Her smile to all – our Countess of the Spring.
