The Sun King, Roi Soleil
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The Sun King (Roi Soleil)
The eyes and lips reveal the majestic, arrogant, smug smile
Of King Louis the Fourteenth, poised pompously in regal style.
Painted in robe of luxurious cloth of splendid colours,
Shod in high heels and adorned with a wig to appear taller.
Hangs Rigaud's nine by eight masterpiece portrait of terror,
In the ‘Musée du Louvre;’ a depiction of absolute power,
That rips the heart of the patron to see a work of irony,
The evilness of tyrannical rule in splendid glory.
Proclaims' the French Sovereign by divine right of kings’ edict;
"L'État, c'est moi" ("I am the State!") of my Dominion's districts.
With a staff in the right hand to break the backs of his subjects,
And the left-hand free to draw the sword to smite them that reject.
On his deathbed, the journal record ‘Louis le Grand’ to have said,
"Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours."
("I am going away, but the State will always remain.")
***
Note:
Ekphrastic poem: “King Louis XIV of France”, painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud (circa 1700/01).
Copyright © Dennis Spilchuk | Year Posted 2018
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