The Tomb Of The Gipsy Queen Poem by Martin Ward

The Tomb of the Gypsy Queen
(Nottingham Road Cemetery, Derby)

For one hundred years
her subjects
have passed this way,
paying homage
as their corteges
take them
to eternal rest.

Men of substance;
mothers, daughters and sons:
loved ones
each and every one.
Unknowing
and oblivious
to her presence.

Because the Gypsy Queen
is buried here,
Travellers
from all over
this Kingdom,
come to stay forever:
travellers no more.

So many extravagantgraves
that dwarf the city's residents' tombs,
sleeping side-by-side,
united in their common fate.

Local legend
will tell
of years long gone,
when steps led down
to the tomb,
and a viewing porthole
allowed those
who dared to glimpse
the Gypsy Queen
in death.

Now filled by concrete
to allow respite
from inquisitive eyes,
the Gypsy Queen
still sits in state,
attended by the dead
and local Blue-Badge tours.