Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS, by CHARLES T. HICKEY First Line: A king came out of his palace Last Line: The monarch who rose from the clay. Subject(s): Justice | ||||||||
A KING came out of his palace And a peasant out of his hut, And the king with a sudden sword stroke An ear from the peasant cut. The king only thought of the peasant As a toy for his merciless play For to kings it is common knowledge That peasants are made of clay. The peasant was meek and humble For the man who knows all things Of times had told the peasant That divine is the right of kings. But it chanced that the lowly peasant In the course of the passing years Began to be discontented At the loss of both of his ears. And he happened to meet the monarch When the sword had been laid away, And injustice aroused the peasant To a maddening impulse to slay. The King was a child to the peasant And the peasant was king from that day; And divine is the right of this monarch, The monarch who rose from the clay. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD: GOD'S JUSTICE by ANNE CARSON CREDO by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE YOUNG WARRIOR by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON TO HORACE BUMSTEAD by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON CONSCRIPTS OF THE DREAM by EDWIN MARKHAM THE MAN UNDER THE STONE by EDWIN MARKHAM |
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