Eyes raised to the sky
Quiet dignity
Breathe your last
From here for centuries
poets, philosophers,
readers of history
will debate
the merit or the tragedy
of this one terrible moment

None us us knowing you
but for your letters
And the strange reports of those
with their own agendas
and truths

Entrapped forever
Some say
your ghost lingers still,
unable to sever
the weight and hold of these ties
These chains

Guilt and innocence so complex
Implying choice
where you, perhaps, had none
Ambitions of families,
desire of a king
The intricate, delicate
deadly machinations of the court

This bloodied end
No justice in this
A womb unable
to produce the life desired
So, in failing this
forfeited yours

Yet you birthed a great queen
Unearthed a new spirituality
Conquered a king
For a moment

Then fell
quiet and desolate
Your tiny, elegant neck
exposed to the executioner

What say you, Anne Boleyn?
To the blind judgement of time
all loves foresaken?
Where you found no mercy
not a drop, for you
remains any in your heart?

(c) Helen Valentina 2013, All Rights Reserved