Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CORONATION DAY, by EDNA C. HENDRICKS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CORONATION DAY, by                    
First Line: With flying flags and beating drums
Last Line: Who loved, and dared to challenge fate!
Subject(s): Edward Viii, King Of England (1894-1972)


With flying flags and beating drums,
And all the panoply of wealth;
The muffled roar that hums and thrums
Along the rain-wet, grey asphalt;

Where shivering millions stand and wait,
Jostle and push good-naturedly,
Until at last the Coach-of-State,
Bearing the Royal Pair rolls by.

And now the waiting throng goes mad
And shrieks and yells, and shrieks again,
And yet again -- exultant, glad --
Reiterate "God Save the King!"

But 'mid the din and pomp and show,
As myriad hearts swear fealty,
While quickened pulsebeats come and go,
A ghostly shadow mars the joy.

For he who chose to abdicate
Is homeless in a foreign land;
And in that gilded Coach-of-State,
His shadow rides with King and Queen.

But aeons hence when time has pulled
The dimming curtain from the scene;
And the swift-mounting years have lulled
Into the grave's oblivion

All prejudice and pride that bind
The slow emotions of the great,
King Edward's fame shall shine undimmed; --
Who loved, and dared to challenge Fate!





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