Place not your trust in princes,
who may dump you in the muck,
where, as history oft evinces
you will be for ever stuck.
A cardinal this lesson learned,
Thomas Wolsey for to name.
All his fawning only earned
ill fortune and great shame:
"If I had served God half as well
as I have my noble sire,
I, now hearing my last knell
would honorably retire:
"Place not your trust in any man,"
Jan Hus said at the stake,
where ill winds the flames did fan,
all for the clergy's sake.
Earth's great leaders promise much.
They promise this and that;
they'll promise lots more such and such
as long as they stay fat.
Categories:
wolsey, history, power, society,
Form: Didactic
Part 5 -- Si Monumentum Requiris …
Some tattered banners (from the Crimean War?
so who on earth was fighting – and what for?)
That Holman Hunt thing, over on the right,
with Jesus and His lantern – “I’m the Light”:
the Whispering Gallery, up inside the dome:
the opulence: as if a bit of Rome
had landed in gray London: Nelson’s tomb,
designed for Wolsey (were they short of room,
and had to double-up?) This is a place
to marvel at the fearless use of space,
the geometric thrill of pillar, arch and vault
in endless permutations! And the salt
which gives this feast its flavor? There’s no stone
or statue, stele, thanatory throne:
Sir Christopher, with modesty and tact,
declined memorials, but was in fact
the first man to be buried in this ground.
You seek his monument? Just look around!
Categories:
wolsey, history, , memorial,
Form: Couplet