Thank You Ma'Am - In Memoriam Queen Elizabeth Ii

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Queen Elizabeth II, by Dorothy Wilding - 1952.

In memoriam: Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022. May she Rest in Peace.

Gracious and a constant all my life,
not bending to public opinion o’ strife,
your sharp wit could cut like a Bowie knife.
With statesmen you did meet—had an excellent seat.
Paddington Bear, so sweet—your compassion, not beat.
You’re honoured as a national treasure,
never resorting to artful pressure:
Deus ex machine per Measure for Measure.
You danced with those freed—gifted a French Guard stead.
You have lived by a creed—example to us indeed.
Remembered as beloved mother and wife,
seventy years on the throne: quite a feat.
There’s no more need of any embrasure.
For your esteemed family, hearts now bleed.

Poetic form: Suzette sonnet.
The title of the poem refers to Paddington Bear saying ' Thank you Ma'am ... for everything...' when he 'took tea' with HRH in celebration of the Planinum Jubelee in June 2022.
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© SUZETTE SONNET—SUZNET for short (9 April 2021)
A 14-line sonnet of alternating triplets and couplets, concluding with a quatrain.
Rhyme scheme: aaa (b1–b2)(b3–b4) ccc (d1–d2)(d3–d4) abcd
The triplets are iambic pentameter [*/|*/|*/|*/|*/].
The rhyming couplets are iambic hexameter and include an internal rhyme, namely [*/|*/|*/—*/|*/|*/] (alexandrines).
Concluding with a quatrain in iambic pentameter that summarises the poem in a rhyme scheme set by the triplets and couplets.
The volta is at L9. OR the couplets may define pivots within the poem, ie a tilting or shifting in the mainline of thought. When the latter is employed, it needs to be uniform throughout the poem.

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