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Thy Servant Elizabeth

_“Well-done, unswerving servant,”
_All the church bells rang
_On all the roads of England,
_While all the angels sang
_Above the long procession
_That formed her funeral;
_The car conveyed her body
_As her Christ assumed her soul.

_In clashing grief and triumph,
_The strong-voiced, iron-tongued
Choir of bells proclaimed that she
_Now wore the crown she’d longed
_To wear, and now was free from
_The heavy earthly one
Whose weight she’d taken as her cross.
_Humbly laying down
Her life, she died to self, to do
_The task that she was given
By her Creator, bearing fruit
_On earth, to win in heaven
_A crown whose weight is glory.
_Westminster’s sculpted stone
Cries out, with every English bell,
_“Your earthly task is done.

You wear the crown reserved for you,
_Given by the King
Whose kingdom never ends.” While you,
_Our queen, are entering
His realm, earth’s bells express our thanks
_For your illustrious reign,
And sorrow for the vanished grace
_You spread through this domain.

.

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Cynthia Erlandson is a poet and fitness professional living in Michigan.  Her third collection of poems, Foundations of the Cross and Other Bible Stories, was released in July, 2024 by Wipf and Stock Publishers.  Her other collections are These Holy Mysteries and Notes on Time.  Her poems have also appeared in First Things, Modern Age, The North American Anglican, The Orchards Poetry Review, The Book of Common Praise hymnal, The Catholic Poetry Room, and elsewhere.

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19 Responses

  1. James Sale

    Very beautiful poem, Cynthia, and a lovely tribute – thank you. You know, you have Democrats, you have Republicans: why, you and Evan could form a Monarchist party? (But whatever you do, don’t appoint the Queen in Montecito!)

    Reply
  2. Jordan Smith

    A wonderful tribute to an exceptional Queen. I longed to walk with others to bow where she was resting and pay my respects. Thanks for bringing back fond memories.

    Reply
    • Cynthia L Erlandson

      Thank you, Jordan. I would love to have been there myself, though I know I would have been sobbing. It was such a profoundly beautiful funeral that I was absolutely glued to the screen all day.

      Reply
  3. Paul Freeman

    A worthy testament to a great monarch. I loved the ‘iron-tongued choir’. What an image.

    Thanks for the read, Cynthia.

    Reply
    • Cynthia L Erlandson

      Thank you so much, Paul. I am in love with the sound of bells, and knowing that all of them, all over the nation, were ringing at the same time, was overwhelmingly inspiring.

      Reply
  4. Martin Briggs

    I find this piece very moving, especially as its title, referring as it did originally to the first Queen Elizabeth (cf William Byrd), opens up a long historical retrospect, and a majestic sense of continuity. Thank you Cynthia.

    Reply
    • Cynthia L Erlandson

      Thank you, Martin. In addition to bell music, I am also in love with the music of William Byrd.

      Reply
  5. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Cynthia, this is a beautiful poem linking the earthly crown with the heavenly one. “A crown whose weight is glory” is one of the inspiring phrases you gifted us.

    Reply
    • Cynthia L Erlandson

      Thank you, Roy. That phrase was inspired by C.S. Lewis’ profound essay/sermon entitled “The Weight of Glory”.

      Reply
  6. Paulette Calasibetta

    A stunning tribute to a Queen whose dignity and grace went beyond the borders of the United Kingdom. The poignant lines:
    “The car conveyed her body
    _As her Christ assumed her soul” …. touch my soul!

    Reply
    • Cynthia L Erlandson

      Thank you, Paulette. Yes, she must have been one of the most gracious monarchs ever to grace a throne.

      Reply
  7. Joseph S. Salemi

    She was a queen who never once let any private wish of her own take precedence over the claims of royal duty to her land and her people. That is true self-sacrifice.

    Reply
  8. Russel Winick

    Well Cynthia, your prior commentators didn’t leave much for me to focus on in your lovely poem about the exceptional Queen. But fortunately, I especially loved the closing lines, and in particular the phrase “the vanished grace.” Well done!

    Reply
  9. C.B. Anderson

    In her own way she was extremely weak.
    She looked away while vultures dipped a beak.
    There’s almost nothing left of what was England
    Except the rotting carcass of a penguin.

    Reply
    • Cynthia L Erlandson

      It is indeed tragic. I wish she somehow could have been allowed to raise her son; I believe that if she had, he might have been a good king.

      Reply

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