She sits inside the Tower
Looks out upon the green
She sees her brother dying
And swallows back her scream.
Her mind drifts back one year--
Was it just a year ago?
She had been the favored one
Whom all had wished to know
She had been the brown-eyed girl
With legs as slim as snakes
Who caught the eye and ear of a king
For her love he ached.
Her quick wit had made him laugh
Her sharp smarts picked at his brain
Her sly kisses made him weak
Her absence caused him pain
For her he swore his kingdom
For her he’d give his life
“That’s not enough,” she told him
“I must become your wife.”
But he had already married
When he was a boy of eighteen
And she had been a beautiful girl
When she became his queen
“But now she’s old and ugly
As wizened as a crow.”
And as she spoke the king realized
His elderly wife must go.
And so she got his promise
And the king fulfilled her wish
She got her crown and castle
When he sealed her lips with his.
But wishes are filled at a price
And kingdoms come with strings
And she found how little she mattered
When going against a king
He grew tired of her kisses
His love for her was done
Her sharp wits now rankled at him
And she could give him no son
So here she sat in the Tower
Watching her loved ones die
Waiting for her own death
As the sun crossed the darkening sky.
There would be no mercy
And there would be no reprieve
The king was off with another
Not even here to grieve.
She is led out from the Tower
Wearing no ermine or crown
She kneels and waits and waits until
At last, the sword comes down.
***I wrote this about Anne Boleyn in 30 minutes time. It is possible to take a story and turn it into a rhyming narrative. You can do this with almost anything. Read the news, or take a well-known celebrity or sports figure, and create a ballad about him or her.***
i really liked this ballad. i thought it was sad how the man she loved she couldnt be with
ReplyDeleteVery good for only 30 minutes, my ballad took practically the whole class period. I like how it is reflective on past events and finishes up with her tragic death.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe that you wrote this ballad in only thirty minutes. I took me three days to write mine. Also I liked that you used a topic from history, especially this one because I really like learning about this time period.
ReplyDeleteI wish I were capable of doing a ballad like this in only thirty minutes. Like Adam, it took me almost all class period to finish mine. I like how this ballad is about a person from the past, most of the ballads on here are within the last few years. Job well done!
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