Mother’s Unhinged Love, Father’s Unrepentant Loves
A blond much raised without his parents through
His early years may be quite different from
A brown-haired boy whose blood is far less blue.
Instead of royal meals he got a crumb
Or two from palace tables. Father had
His mistress interests. Mother had her soul
To deal with. Not that it was bad,
But it was vexed like a palimpsest scroll.
This prince was more a nomad in the sands
Of Sinai with beggarly mirage
For background in the desert’s arid strands.
His aunts and uncles were his entourage.
..The mother wore renunciating clothes
….And mental illness with its dried up oaths.
This poem is part of a shorter sonnet sequence within this large sonnet sequence called The Encyclopedia Sonnetica. The shorter sonnet sequence is called “Philip, Prince of Greece and Great Britain.” I recommend you read this poem where it is set in its sonnet sequence. To do that, search for “Philip, Prince of Greece and Great Britain” here in The Encyclopedia Sonnetica.