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There she sits upon her throne
Watching, waiting - all alone-
She casts her gaze across the land
This lonely Queen with sword in hand...
She loved but once so full and true
With heart and soul and body too
With all her being she gave to him,
Forever, love could not grow dim
This man who hanged upon a choice
So loving and with calming voice
Returned her love with the fire of life,
But nurtured inside his own strife...
His love for her was ne'er in doubt,
But hanging there was it's own rout -
With sacrifice he had to pay;
to cease to hang; to fly away...
She cut him down with sword of steel
And said 'My love how do you feel'?
He looked at her with tender stare,
But said ' I must fly yonder, there...
I was hanged - you helped me down;
I know you would forfeit your crown,
But keep your crown and sword for me
For I must leave to become free...
'Her eyes cast down she shed a tear-
No more to see him was her fear;
"Hanged Man, are you such a Fool,
For leaving me a lone to rule???"
He looked at her but still took flight
His wings they spread with shining light
And so he left with but one word
Upon the lips of the Queen of Swords...
And so she sits,
upon her throne,
Sadly loving and all alone,
Her thoughts are of a Fool she knew
And each day whispers
'I love You...'
The Story Behind The Cards
This poem is based on the Tarot and on three cards in particular: The Queen of Swords, The Hanged Man and The Fool. As all of the cards have meanings in the deck, the meanings of these cards have been woven into the poem, setting the scene for the narrative and giving it its atmosphere and soul.
The Queen of Swords generally represents the female sadness; separation, the widow or 'the woman alone'... Often seen as a situation that goes against the grain or the nature of things, this can be a hard thing to bear for many when the woman's role in nature is to nurture and be a part of a family group...
The Hanged Man can mean a sacrifice to be made,and has sometimes been compared to the corn effigieshung in homage to the sacrifice that the Corn God has made by giving up his grain for the sake of the people
'John Barleycorn' was such an personification of this who was sacrificed and suffered a horrible death so that others may live. It is thought that he tended to represent the ideology of nature cycles, spirits and the harvest of the Pagan religion and that may also have represented human sacrifice...
It is also believed that the concept of 'John Barleycorn' was adopted by the early Christians to woo the Pagans away from their worship of nature and its many Gods and Goddesses, so that they would be converted to the new faith...
Other beliefs suggest that in olden times the spirit of the corn or grain lived in the crop which became homeless at the hands of the harvest.This was so that bread may be made and the people fed.
The Fool can often (as well as symbolize euphoria and folly) mean a new start with a leap into the unknown... a leap of faith. In as much as this poem depicts a doomed love story of the sort where one person feels trapped by the love of another, it is the other who ultimately makes the sacrifice through love, and herself ends up alone...
So, Just like in a Tarot reading, the cards meanings can alter when in the proximity of other influential cards... and here the appearance of the Hanged Man heralds a sacrifice for the Queen...
'Corn dollies' (a corruption of the word 'idols' perhaps?) were made from the last wheatsheafs to be harvested in order to offer a home for the spirit of the crop over the winter period, which would be in turn be the first to be planted in the furrows for the new crop in the spring.
A reflection of real life? only the Corn Dolly knows...
Harvest knot courtesy of Gillian Nott - You can find more information on Corn Dollies and how to make them here at www.strawcraftsmen.co.uk
