Queen And Clown.

Robert Crawford 1959 (Bellshill)



Cleopatra: Hast thou the pretty worm of Nilus there, that kills and
pains not?
Clown: Truly I have him; but I would not be the party that should
desire you to touch him, for his biting is immortal: those that do die of it
do seldom or never recover.
* * * * *
Asps in a basket for the Queen!
The pretty worm of Nile
Will charm her from what might have been,
And make Death smile.
So soft an end for one so fair,
Her Roman lying low —
The other Roman finds her there,
Beyond him so!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
400

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDE FGHGIJIJ
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 478
Words 102
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Robert Crawford

Robert Crawford FRSE FBA is a Scottish poet, scholar and critic. He is currently Professor of English at the University of St Andrews.  more…

All Robert Crawford poems | Robert Crawford Books

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