About this Poem:
This unassuming memorial marks the spot (or near enough) where the English King John signed the Magna Carta, on June 15th, 1215. The document was presented to him by an assortment of outraged Barons, rebelling against the unchecked power of the crown, and demanded for them their rights not to be illegally imprisoned, or unfairly taxed, among others. The King, fearing the stability of his rule, signed, and with it began the arduous unravelling of the monarchy's power over the next few centuries. This is often considered the birthplace of the Rule Of Law in England, and as the age of colonialism rolled around, its impact was exported and felt keenly in countries right across the globe.
Incidentally, as a student, it's also where I used to go and get up to, uh, all sorts, at the weekend...
Pretty strange, I know. Ours was a fairly quiet student town, and as politically irreverent youngsters I think we got a kick out of this low-level disrespect. It's a beautiful spot, right on the banks of the river, and in the dead of night makes such a tranquil place to just sit back and listen to the sounds of the countryside echoing all around. There's a gravity to it too, a significance which you just can't escape from no matter how little you think of the Barons' grievances. Their demands were not for us, after all - mere serfs dancing on the graves of the old masters.
We always tided up after ourselves. For what it's worth.
Even the form itself gives away a lot:
in small characters, feels like further past, "tree" gives hints of hierarchy. Then the characters get bigger, closer to us, that's interesting how the line with the word "stone" is imprisoned between the two others, both "stone" and "frozen" feel like stability, something insensitive to the change. is the closest to us, the recent one, talking about the present or even the future. "Leaf" representing new growing power, new life!Bravo, Lazarus! (now I'm off for reading the notes)
Thank you Katya :) My secrets laid bare, as always, haha. Change and stability, past and present, these things have a way of informing and cycling back on each other...
Thanks for providing the backstory. Your poem had me curious.
No problem :) Thank you for checking it out!
Wow ... a lot of layers to this 'ku. Bravo:)
Cheers Pryde :)
Thanks for the haiku and the provided background. It was like having a nice and illustrative conversation.
Your haiku, makes me think of past vs present issues, @lazarus-wist :D I'm rethinking things.
Hey Marlyn, glad you enjoyed it :) Past vs present is definitely a good lens to view this through - so much has changed since, and unfortunately, so much remains more or less the same...
Fascinating story, wonderfully encapsulated within the haiku!