On the Occasion of Edward II’s
700th Birthday—April 25,1984
On burning blue spring mornings such as this
One, he would best have found his satisfactions
In passionless ditch-digging with the bliss
Of sun on neck and back,or, in actions
Of sweat while making thatched roofs (no, not war
Or love), in comradeship and common things.
His destiny had wed him to a whore
Who, like right-thinkers of the age, felt kings
Should busy realms with Bannockburns and such
Pursuits as hewing rival peers. Instead
He had two friends and hobbies, loved too much,
And, hence, is sainted with the tortured dead
As king of natural preferences. His crime
Was in his sap-filled ways before their time.