"A Widow's Lament in an Age of no Flowers"
Late on the night of January’s frost,
I watched my husband pay the final cost.
They brought him wreathes, they brought him song,
they crowned his rest, they called it strong.
But I cannot forget the other ground,
where no flowers bloom, no bells resound.
The Romanov children, stripped and slain,
their bodies hidden in Siberian rain.
Graveless, cancelled, rubbed from unscrolled page,
yet their voices cry against the rage.
No cenotaph, nor a marble stone;
unperturbed, unmarked and overgrown.
And I, the widow, dare not tell
my comrades of this thought of Hell:
What if the Faith they sought to kill
still tolls its bell, relentless, shrill?
For one is celebrated, banners unfurled,
while others are banished from this world.
Yet stars above, with hostile light,
judge both alike in endless night.
.
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Author:
crypticbard (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: December 6th, 2025 05:07
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 14
- Users favorite of this poem: Friendship, Tristan Robert Lange, Bella Shepard, Kevin Hulme
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Comments9
What on this earth doth cures is judged the same by the universe. A lovely write Cryptic that is dark and all to true. Don't know if this is based on an actual event or if it is meant to be taken as a general application to not only Russia and the Siberian planes but other areas of banishment and genocide. Well done my firend
The template was Lenin’s passing and the fictional voice of his widowed wife using the execution/assassination/murder of the Romanovs, deserving or not, as the emotional counterpoint. I guess the guillotine was more systematic and sterile to have the same effect.
That makes total sense. A pattern that has been reenacted over and over in history and continues to this day. A powerful poem my friend
The poem deals with the historical context of the Romanov family, particularly the execution of the children, and reflects on the nature of grief, memory, and the consequences of political violence. It brings attention to the often-overlooked victims of history and the moral implications of how society commemorates certain lives while neglecting
Good write A. There's the cliches maybe - 'God takes the best people to be flowers in his garden' and 'The good die young'. But those two sayings are not Biblical; rather 'old wives tales' as the Bible says. Those sayings don't help families of 'innocent' children or relatives slain.
Meanwhile - I don't know if it's the wives who are old, or the tales, or both. Eh? lol.
I could sort of set this to a hymn-tune if you wish.
Why not a hymn treatment! And interesting about the Old-wives and wive’s tales… noice 🙏🏻🕊️
And it will be worse.
Aye, I hear ya🙏🏻🕊️
My friend, the poem moves with a quiet ache…personal mourning layered over the unmarked graves of history. You carry both truths at once and let them echo. Beautifully done. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
Both at once brings thought back to ballet, 🩰 somehow. Thanks Tittu 🙏🏻🕊️🤩
Wow. Yes. Indeed. Ballet. 🩰 You are most welcome, Rik. 🌹🖤
Death knows no bounds, it is an equal opportunity usurper of the famous, the infamous, the innocent and the guilty, and all that is left is the legacy for better or worse. Brilliant write!
Was rewatching Hamilton last night (as a bedtime story, lol) and that rang in the same tenor in Aaron Burr’s (?) last song! Thanks dearest Bella🙏🏻🕊️
I have formed this into a hymn-poem, thank you. It should appear shortly. I've added a bit, to make up the number of lines needed for each verse, but hopefully only changed things minimally, and stating your permission to adapt it.
Yay! Can’t wait, O. The last time we did this you hadn’t added any working on it at all. So this one is more special like Rodgers and Hammerstein 🙏🏻🕊️
Erm, I've not done much change to this one either, you'll see.
Oh. That’s still a collab 🙏🏻🕊️
Its Heartbreaking what happened to the 'Romanovs' . A deserved Fave.
That is so, Kevin. A saga of unending fascination just like Arthurian lore was to me in childhood. 🙏🏻🕊️
Wonderful and very truthful words Rik.
Andy
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