Xirysa Says: I haven't written a good piece of poetry in a long time, and I've never written one as a piece of 'fic before, but… The idea came to me while I was taking the ACT on Saturday. I pushed to the back of my mind when I first got it (because one really shouldn't think of 'fic when taking a standardized test), but started drafting today. So here's my… Attempt.


La Reine Tragique

You came here from Austria
Where your mother was queen.
The eleventh child born,
One of sixteen.

At thirteen, engaged,
To keep Europe's peace.
A political union, yes,
But the fighting did cease.

When fourteen, you married—
A picturesque bride.
To our young Dauphin,
Our hope and our pride.

He was awkward and shy,
But his love for you was true.
And for a while, we did feel
The same about you.

A lovely young Dauphine,
Fragile, not meek.
Yet who was to know
You would be La Reine Tragique?

The king soon passed on,
Leaving us alone.
And you and your husband
Ascended the throne.

But Paris was dying,
And France, too, was ill.
"We'll pull through it," we said.
"It's a matter of will."

We saved and we starved
So our children could eat.
But for you in Versailles,
Each night was a feast.

You ate and you laughed
And you danced through the night.
But while you made merry,
You ignored our plight.

And then… A lover you took,
Handsome and kind.
And 'twas from that moment
Our affection declined.

"An affair? Impossible!"
In shock we did cry.
We ignored all rumors until
Convinced it was no lie.

"Temptress! Seductress!"
Some people did say.
For no way in Hell
Could a queen act this way.

But he left to go join
The war overseas
And soon you became
The proud mother of three.

When he came back,
You said you'd see him no more.
But everyone now knew
What you adored.

Then the Necklace Affair
And then death of your son.
"You're not a queen," we decided,
"And never were one."

We once used to love you,
Twenty years ago.
When summer was happy,
Winter beautiful with snow.

Times have changed, now,
And your family is gone.
How does it feel to be
Cold and alone?

Long golden locks
Now snowy with fear.
And porcelain skin stained
With the sins of the years.

You said to eat cake
If there was no bread.
Now you, our dear queen,
Are headless and dead.


Xirysa Says: Oh, wow. That was… Interesting… Something I've never done before. Ergo… It's pretty horrible. The last verse, though, is what inspired me to write this. Even if it is a bit morbid sounding. And le gasp. It's from the perspective of the French people! Weird, huh? I really don't have anything else to say on this save for this: "I'm very sorry if you burned your eyes out from reading and will never write anything so horrible ever again!"