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Rose🌹
Is that you, my beloved Napoleon,
Who has come to me since your long-ago death,
To your Joséphine, whose image was engraved
upon the heart of you, the great Bonaparte.
It has been even longer still, since my own
untimely parting, my own exile from life
and everything you meant to me, my Only;
Mistress Rose & then your Empress Joséphine.
I had six summers and six winters before
Your own sun shown itself on the horizon;
Babe in arms, youth & master, and Emperor;
And lover, though like a son to me, my third.
To raise you as my own Beauharnais, mon cher,
Thus to live, and have me be sixteen again,
And never be annulled because you could not
claim your seed an issue from our wedding bed.
And so, ‘twas not to be in the stars for me,
although issues of my blood are mine alone
that carry on the beating sake of my heart;
Such is the irony, our history, and you.
Published 6th May 2019
| Edited 7th May 2019
Author's Note
For the DUP competition “To Josephine de Beauharnais with love”.
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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6th May 2019 10:54pm
Reads like the winning ticket to me. It read with the feel of a personal 'letter' as if recently discovered, and now a national treasure.
7th May 2019 1:43am
Omgosh, Josh, that... is such an amazing thing to say, how this has left you feeling. I don’t know what else to say, except to thank you.
7th May 2019 2:02am
I agree with Josh. It's wonderfully and intimately rendered. The epistle style is perfect. Hope you do well in the comp. Wouldn't surprise me.
Thank you, Daniel.
For me, oft times as it most happens, it’s a competition theme and what it brings out of me, that gives me humbling honors no trophy can ever quite equal, no matter where I place.
For me, oft times as it most happens, it’s a competition theme and what it brings out of me, that gives me humbling honors no trophy can ever quite equal, no matter where I place.
7th May 2019 2:19am
damn my Pandora of love...
speechless,
as i have been made by you in stated multiplicity<3
speechless,
as i have been made by you in stated multiplicity<3
7th May 2019 2:32am
11th May 2019 6:28am
Wow, wow. It's no easy task to make history so intimate feeling. Amazing job my friend.
11th May 2019 6:43am
Thank you, Mahmudul, for that means so much to me. Two subjects started early, and strong, in my early youth: astronomy, and history. I’m grateful for how you can appreciate this, my friend.
11th May 2019 6:47am
I like history & astronomy too. But, my studies don't let me explore my thoughts. So, I only write SelfReflection type poems at this point. Maybe one day I will expand my horizon. And you seriously know how to tell a tale. You truly have a great gift.
11th May 2019 6:54am
You will one day be able to expand your knowledge that will become your poetic expressions. These times will come.
And gracious thanks to you, dear friend.
And gracious thanks to you, dear friend.
I really feel delighted to meet with poetic and historical enthusiasts like you Jade-Pandora. I have read your poems. You and I have similar passions. I just read your poem 'Rose,' which happened to be the empress Josephine's name prior to her re-christening by Napoleon Bonaparte who loathed the name. Napoleon is one of the most fascinating figures I find in history. I happen to be a staunch admirer of him, and seeing someone who writes about him gives me as much excitement as the enthusiasm I have for more and more research about his life and times.
I thank you, Joseph Ogbonna, fot bringing that enthusiasm & passion to the table. To have it ignite a torch for my historical poetry to see by.
