Hear ye, hear ye
Harken to me as I say
There's been issued a stay
There will be no execution today
What seemed so obvious a case
Has divorced itself into disgrace
For the headsmen was charged with murderous accounts
In the deaths of many, their score beyond count
Then a development
A trifling thing
He confessed he acted
By order of the king
To the palace, we sojourned
Amongst the courtiers and captains
Graced by their succor
From our majesty, a full testimony we secured
Though the ledgers, well kept, detailed expenses as followed:
Axes, blocks, scaffolds , and coffins
Armor , swords , crossbows, and matching bolts
Pensions (for guards) , presses for printers, and town callers
Despite our full efforts,
An investigation most total
Not one execution order, signed nor delivered,
Could we uncover
As we departed
A question we were gifted
Who’s to swing the axe
If the headman is afflicted?
Without all the relevant facts presented
It would be too unkind, too cruel to our kindred
To emburden a loyal servant
Either unjustly or so prejudiced, so
Hear ye hear ye
Harken to me as I say
There's been issued a stay
There will be no execution today
Unless the king’s mind changes
Then we must proceed without delay
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A/N:
Purely a work of fiction.
If you've enjoyed this, please leave a like and an insight below. If you really enjoyed this, tips to fuel my coffee addiction are always appreciated. All formatting is designed for desktops. My best stories can be found below:
About the Creator
Matthew J. Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of arcane knowledge.
Here there be dragons, knights, castles, and quests (plus the occasional dose of absurdity).
I can be reached at [email protected]
Keep reading
More stories from Matthew J. Fromm and writers in Poets and other communities.
Past Lives
War made for odd couples. To Private Jim Mclellan, Sepp seemed a good man; better at least than some of the monsters he heard stories of deeper into the Reich. Real monsters. This Sepp almost reminded Jim of his uncle; the one from Wisconsin he met a few times at Weddings.
By Matthew J. FrommExclusive • 11 months ago
Comments (11)
Oh my gosh this is such a tight, fun poem ( with real-world implications )! Really clean, well-edited and executed, and the ending is *chef's kiss*. Gosh I've missed reading your writing. Always a pleasure!
Not sure if this is a shot at the world today or just pure fantasy. Either way I’m giving it a 3 whoop whoops on the ‘whoop oh-meter’ ( and I hardly give those out)
Coming back for a closer read. I need to know if what I’m doing in Happy VD works, or does it need more clarity? I know it needs drafting, but with that in mind, does it work? I need a real reader opinion on this.
NO KINGS!!! At least where I live. Loved the Fromm Flair added to this work of 'fiction'.
“Purely a work of fiction” not at all rooted in current events lol Here’s to a quick spring and ice melting…..
Well-wrought! May we truly and finally expurgate the notion of royalty!
I smell a clever, political allegory here, Mr. Fromm!
I don’t think I can read this without assigning a symbolic meaning about some of the modern tyranny we’re seeing unfold in real time. It doesn’t lessen the poem though. I dig it, the language use throughout is spot on.
Applies to both Iran and US today. Who would have ever thought?
Modern day king or ....many ways to interpret this...some may land one under the axe. yep, axe sorely needed.
Fun stuff, Matthew! Well done!