Sunday, April 26, 2015

Time to Die

Dear reader, today we are prompted to write a persona poem, or a poem that is written in the voice of another. We were not given a subject to write on, and this made the poem that much more difficult to write. Ultimately, I chose to write a free verse poem in two parts, based on two of my favorite historical figures. Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia have long held fascination for me, and I have spent a lot of time reading about them. The words I write are pure fiction. I hope you enjoy my interpretation of the prompt.


Rod E. Kok
April 26, 2015

Nicholas
My sleep is troubled,
vivid dreams of terror
keep me from resting.
I’ve many hours to reflect
on this frail existence
I now live.
Where did it all
go wrong?
I fear for my children,
dear Olga and Maria,
Tatiana and Anastasia.
What will become of you?
And Alexei. Oh my son,
I wish my kingdom
could be yours,
but alas, there is
no empire to give.
All I had is
gone.
I pray to my God
to protect my wife.
Dear Alix,
forgive my weakness.
I wish things could
be different.
I hear the boots of men
stomping in the hall,
demanding we come
with them, for safety.
I hear the sound
of gunfire,
bullets are tearing through
all that I love.
Farewell my family.
Goodbye, dear Russia.
Remember me fondly.
It is time to die.


Alexandra
Do I have regrets?
This life of luxury
is filled with
false illusions.
How can I be happy
in the midst of
sorrow?
My heart beats wildly
when I think of
how life will be
for my darling Alexei.
This family curse
haunts him, prevents him
from living.
Will there be release
for him, or will he
be cursed to live
in the grips of death?
And what will become
of my beautiful girls?
Will they be slaves
to royalty as I myself
am a slave?
And Nicholas...my Tsar,
my husband.
Have we ever been
friends?
I hate this land
you rule,
it is as cold towards me
as your subjects are.
We now await
our fate,
what will happen to
us.
We have fallen
from grace.
What lies ahead?
I hear the boots of men
stomping in the hall,
demanding we come
with them, for safety.
What are the guns for?
My Nicholas lies dead,
my children scream.
All I hold dear
is now gone.
It is time
to die.


2 comments:

  1. I think this is my favourite and your best yet, Rod!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. WHOAAAA talk about bringing (maybe) history to life and making it bleed! Amazing :)

    ReplyDelete