As times turned hard and harder yet,
The Queen grew apprehensive—
Relentless tides of change had made
One luxury expensive.
Reluctantly, she let her yacht
Retire to Edinburgh—
It was refitted for a tour
Both riveting and thorough.
The spaces where the crew once stayed
Provide much satisfaction—
The ones reserved for royalty
Surpass them in attraction.
All those who want to get on board
Are charged the going rate—
Pounds sterling must be spent to see
How Windsors lived in state.
A native Virginian, Jane Blanchard lives and writes in Georgia. Her second collection, Tides & Currents, like her first, Unloosed, is available from Kelsay Books.
Dear Jane,
Congratulations! Yours is an excellent poem and is very well-written. Its subject matter is a welcome relief from the ideological poems we’ve been seeing lately, including my own.
Joe T.
Joe, I too like Jane’s calm and crisp indictment of royalty. But is that not just as ideological in it’s way?
No, I really don’t believe that it is. If I’m reading this correctly, this is the Queen recognizing that the times have changed and responding – by selling the yacht – accordingly.
Ideologues give nothing. They make no concessions. It is, for them, the idea at all costs.
A true ideologue would never have sold the yacht.
It’s nice and light, and the rhyme and meter are handled well. It makes for an easy and enjoyable read.
I really like this poem. I like that you’ve used a relatively small concession (the Queen giving up her yacht) to sum up the whole social shift from monarchy to democracy. What was once reserved for royalty, is now for sale to the people. The jaunty rhythm and light rhymes are a perfect fit.