The Mystery of History
The mystery of history –
what was it really like
to plot against the king and end
with your head upon a spike?
The twistery of history –
of who did what to who?
Conspiracies and treacheries
who’s false and who is true?
The listery of history
of laws and wars and kings –
it’s boring when we hear about
hard-to-remember things.
Don’t just list facts, tell stories
of real people’s lives,
then the mystery of history
will really come alive!
The Castle
Ruined towers brood
over a courtyard, empty now.
No more the sounds of men and horses
readying for war.
The jingle of mail and harness
the scrape of sword in scabbard
the shouts of the marshal and sergeant-at-arms
the roar of the smithy.
Maybe war came to them –
the hissing rain of arrows
the crash of mangonels and trebuchets
bringing down the walls.
The dull thud
of a battering ram
the cries of the wounded, shouts of command
the roar of the smithy.
In time of peace –
the baker and the brewer
clattering their pots and pans and calling
to the under-servants.
Messengers to and fro
sounds of sword drill
the pedlars’ cries and children’s laughter
the roar of the smithy.
Ann Marie Thomas is the author of five medieval history books, a surprisingly cheerful poetry collection about her 2010 stroke and two further poetry collections, and the science fiction series Flight of the Kestrel, of which there are four books are out now. Follow her at http://eepurl.com/bbOsyz and get free books.