History & Politics
Remarks About Kings
From The Poems of Henry van Dyke (1925)
God said, "I am tired of kings,"--
But that was a long while ago!
And meantime man said, "No,--
I like their looks in their robes and rings."
So he crowned a few more,
And they went on playing the game as before,
Fighting and spoiling things.
Man said, "I am tired of kings!
Sons of the robber-chiefs of yore,
They make me pay for their lust and their war;
I am the puppet, they pull the strings;
The blood of my heart is the wine they drink.
I will govern myself for awhile I think,
And see what that brings!"
Then God, who made the first remark,
Smiled in the dark.
Codex Note
From "The Red Flower and Golden Stars". Headed in the source by: "God said I am tired of kings."--EMERSON. Dated October, 1915 in the source. Printed beneath the poem: Read at the meeting of the American Academy, Boston, November, 1915.
Cite this poem
MLA
Dyke, Henry van. “Remarks About Kings.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/vandyke/141/.
Chicago
Dyke, Henry van. “Remarks About Kings.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/vandyke/141/.
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