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  • The Abdication of Mary Queen of Scots
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The Abdication of Mary Queen of Scots

Gerda Stevenson

Tak ma croon, an dinna fash –
aa yon wis ower fur me lang syne.
Ye needna glaum at ma silk goon
wi yer coorse nieve – I’m nae threit;
I’ll sign yer muckle scroll, dae whit I maun,
past carin noo; thae last three days ma flesh
an saul hae wandert shores o hell-fire, dule an daith:
twa bairns I cradled in ma wame aa through the months,
sae douce, o Spring an Simmer; slippit cauld an stieve
intae the dowie air o Leven’s grey stane waas,
claucht frae ma jizzen, an burriet ootby, wi nae prayer,
fur aa I ken, an nae sang, twa scraps o heiven,
aa ma howp in their twin licht smoorit noo,
tho milk’s aye buckin frae ma breists unner ma lace an steys;
an I couldnae gie a fig fur yer fouterin laws,
sat there, scrieven yer Latin clatters o queens an kings –
O, I could run rings roon ilka yin o ye in Greek an aa,
as weel’s ma bonnie French, but yer naethin, naethin noo,
jist ghaists; an, och, Mary, Mary Seton, last
o ma fower leal ladies, dinna waste yer tears
oan gien up a bittie gowd an glister; haud ma airm
if it helps, but dinna, dinna greet fur this.


Gerda Stevenson

From The Hunterian Poems, edited by Alan Riach (Freight Books, 2016)

Reproduced by kind permission of the author

Tags:

contempt Mary Queen of Scots politics power and control prisoners royalty Scots the body torture women

About this poem

Author’s note: ‘Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle in 1567. She miscarried twins on 20th and 23rd July, and was forced to abdicate the day after.’

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Gerda Stevenson

Gerda Stevenson was born and raised in the Scottish Borders, and trained at RADA, London. She is an actor, singer/song-writer, playwright and poet.
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