A Mock Song Poem by Richard Lovelace

A Mock Song

Rating: 2.8


I.
Now Whitehall's in the grave,
And our head is our slave,
The bright pearl in his close shell of oyster;
Now the miter is lost,
The proud Praelates, too, crost,
And all Rome's confin'd to a cloister.
He, that Tarquin was styl'd,
Our white land's exil'd,
Yea, undefil'd;
Not a court ape's left to confute us;
Then let your voyces rise high,
As your colours did flye,
And flour'shing cry:
Long live the brave Oliver-Brutus.

II.
Now the sun is unarm'd,
And the moon by us charm'd,
All the stars dissolv'd to a jelly;
Now the thighs of the Crown
And the arms are lopp'd down,
And the body is all but a belly.
Let the Commons go on,
The town is our own,
We'l rule alone:
For the Knights have yielded their spent-gorge;
And an order is tane
With HONY SOIT profane,
Shout forth amain:
For our Dragon hath vanquish'd the St. George.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Seamus O Brian 10 August 2017

A bitingly sardonic commentary on contemporary politics, from a poet deeply and personally enmeshed in the politics of a very turbulent time, a time when even publishing a poem could land one in prison. This piece graphically portrays his loyalty to the throne against all thought of a replacement, and God forbid, the thought of common folk ruling themselves.

6 0 Reply
Susan Williams 10 August 2017

Thank you very much for the enlightenment, Seamus

0 0
Susan Williams 10 August 2017

Read Seamus' informative remark. You don't want to know the thoughts that went through my head while reading this nut at one point I was thinking he was a dirty old man.

4 0 Reply
Bernard F. Asuncion 10 August 2017

Such a great and interesting poem.....

1 0 Reply
Mahtab Bangalee 10 August 2018

greatly written- Let the Commons go on, The town is our own, We'l rule alone:

1 0 Reply
Khairul Ahsan 10 August 2020

'Now the sun is unarm'd, And the moon by us charm'd, All the stars dissolv'd to a jelly; Now the thighs of the Crown And the arms are lopp'd down, And the body is all but a belly' - I am greatly amused!

0 0 Reply
Deepak Kumar Pattanayak 10 August 2020

This is all about a ruler ruling his subjects how efficiently, iron handedly, single handedly, effectively depicted here with outstanding words.........brilliantly crafted......10+++

0 0 Reply
Mahtab Bangalee 10 August 2020

our head is our slave...beautiful mock song

0 0 Reply
Ratnakar Mandlik 10 August 2019

" All Rome confined to a cloister" A beautifully envisioned classic worthy of the classic poem of the Day.

0 0 Reply
Kumarmani Mahakul 10 August 2018

A poem with touching expression. Beautifully penned.

0 0 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Close
Error Success