Poem - A life well lived
Our Queen of hearts,
Sadly departs,
You waved, you smiled, you shone,
We mourn together that you are gone,
In eternal rest, our Queen sleeps,
As our nation, gently weeps,
A sense of loss that is felt by all,
Yet still so many happy memories to recall,
With you on our throne,
We never felt alone,
You give and receive such respect,
You show us love, you connect,
Your loss is a Great British sadness,
You filled many lives, with gladness,
We may never know how much you did unseen,
You’ll always be The Servant Queen,
You are now in God’s embrace,
Queen of the people, full of grace,
Underneath are the everlasting arms, holding you,
Queen of colours; red, white, and blue,
Your family meant everything to you,
The values of your faith, at the heart of all you do,
Nothing can ever take the place,
Of seeing amusement, lighting your face,
You always did your royal duty,
Your kindness radiated, serene beauty,
You gave us your all,
By answering the Sovereign call,
So much of your life, on public display,
As you quietly worked for us, every day,
You once said that you had to be seen to be believed,
That, Your Majesty, is why this nation grieved,
You weren’t an invisible Queen, out of reach, or hidden away,
You made us feel special, with your speeches on Christmas Day,
We felt that you really, genuinely cared,
In all the many royal walkabouts that you shared,
You were the Queen for all people, for everyone,
All that you achieved, can never be undone,
You kept us going when times were tough,
Your love and compassion, were always enough,
You showed a matchless, selfless dedication,
As Head of State, in charge of our nation,
You were wise, reassuring and strong,
Your majestic reign was uniting and long,
Prince Philip was your strength and stay,
Your faith in God, sets us a good example today,
Able to nurture and to care,
You were reliable, always there,
As a child, you were not destined to our throne, to succeed,
But you took up the challenge, you learned to lead,
The nations and peoples were proud,
To sing ‘God Save the Queen’ aloud,
In Westminster Abbey, on your Coronation Day,
In a moment of seclusion; you knelt to pray,
Then before God and us, your Coronation Ceremony began,
And for seventy years, the second Elizabethan Age ran,
In your reign as Queen, right from the start,
You found a special place, in our nation’s heart,
Loved by all, by young and old,
You celebrated Jubilees; Silver and Gold,
Quietly working away,
On London 2012, Opening Ceremony Day,
The real Queen, not pretend,
At the Olympics, with James Bond, as her friend!
We can share many memories of you,
And all that you achieve and do,
Then the time had arrived in your reign,
To celebrate, and put out the bunting again,
Crowds cheering and flying the flag, for our Queen,
Longest serving monarch, that this nation has ever seen,
All over the land, tables for community tea parties were laid,
On reaching your Platinum Jubilee, history by you was made,
You will always be our inspiration,
Sovereign Queen, friend of the nation,
A life well lived, honest and true,
With Paddington Bear, you shared a brew!
And before that day, well, we didn’t have a clue,
That in your handbag, you kept a marmalade sandwich too!
You never ceased to surprise,
Showing a sense of humour, in your eyes,
Our Queen of hearts,
Sadly departs,
She left us with a sense of fun,
Her new life in heaven has begun,
Peoples of Britain, will salute you,
Peoples of the world, will send affection too,
Farewell, Your Majesty,
You will be missed, but not just by me,
With you as our monarch, we felt blessed,
Queen Elizabeth II, you were the best,
To sign off, I just want to say,
So many tributes are sent to you today,
Thinking of you, evokes all sorts of emotion,
Thank you, Ma’am, for your Queenly devotion.