Poetry in Motion

Queen Elizabeth on Town Hall

A caller to The News rang with a poem she wanted to share. Editor Roy Pilott explained we do not run poems, but she said asked if she could read it to him… explaining it had a twist at the end.

Roy said yes and listened to this:

The Queen is taking a drive today:
They have hung with purple the carriageway,
They have dressed with purple the royal track
Where the Queen goes forth and never comes back.

Let no man labour as she goes by
On her last appearance to mortal eye;
With heads uncovered let all men wait
For the Queen to pass, in her regal state.

Army and Navy shall lead the way
For that wonderful coach of the Queen’s to-day.
Kings and Princes and Lords of the land
Shall ride behind her, a humble band;

And over the city and over the world
Shall the flags of all Nations be half-mast-furled,
For the silent lady of royal birth
Who is riding away from the Courts of earth,
Riding away from the world’s unrest
To a mystical goal, on a secret quest.
Though in royal splendour she drives through town
Her robes are simple, she wears no crown;
And yet she wears one; for, widowed no more,
She is crowned with the love that has gone before,
And crowned with the love she has left behind
In the hidden depths of each mourner’s mind.
Bow low your heads — lift your hearts on high —
The Queen in silence is driving by!

The poem was penned by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

And the twist? It was for Queen Victoria, who died in January 1901.

It was, said Roy, the best call he took all day.

More Recent News

Trust’s half century of care

Archbishop Emeritus Sir David Moxon was among around 100 guests who last week celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Metlifecare St Andrew’s in Cambridge. Speaking at the Moxon Centre, the newest building in…

Now it’s… Coke couture

Heidi Caesar was sweating as she stepped out in front of a hyped crowd of senior students, microphone in hand. “I could walk in my underwear and I couldn’t care less, but it’s talking to…

Diwali brings closer ties

The colourful Hindu festival of lights known as Diwali filled the Cambridge Town Hall last week when around 140 people enjoyed an evening of Indian food, dance and culture. The event was organised by Idea…

Clocking up miles for moles

The Lions Cancer Trust Project’s free mobile screening vehicle paid its first visit to the Waikato and King Country this month. The six-tonne melanoma and skin cancer detection vehicle provides people with access to detection…