{"id":8716,"date":"2021-09-27T11:19:45","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T10:19:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuartpoetry.art\/?p=8716"},"modified":"2021-09-27T11:21:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-27T10:21:00","slug":"two-poems-and-a-short-story-written-whilst-travelling-to-bath-on-the-22nd-of-march-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/27\/two-poems-and-a-short-story-written-whilst-travelling-to-bath-on-the-22nd-of-march-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Two poems and a short story written whilst travelling to Bath on the 22nd of March 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Battle Song<\/strong><\/p>\n

David and Lisa were near the city of Ratisbon<\/p>\n

They had been exploring the area for a few hours<\/p>\n

David was carrying a paperback book detailing all of Napoleon\u2019s battles whilst Lisa was carrying a slim volume of poetry by Robert Browning<\/p>\n

Do you realise that Napoleon stood on one of these mounds and watched the progress of the battle<\/em><\/p>\n

I would have thought he would have been on horseback
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you for correcting me he was on horseback
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

What was noticeable about the area where the husband and wife stood was that it was covered deeply with red buttercups<\/p>\n

Yellow buttercups covered the nearby fields but the mounds were covered by the vivid red buttercups<\/p>\n

Why are the buttercups in this area red whereas they are their normal yellow elsewhere?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The answer is in your book
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Explain
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It is described in one of Mr Browning\u2019s poems<\/em><\/p>\n

Which one?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Incident of the French Camp
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I believe that is the title of the work<\/em><\/p>\n

Lisa sat down and looked through her book of poems<\/p>\n

I cannot find the poem in my book
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Then I shall tell you the story of why the buttercups here are red and the others are yellow
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It all started with a boy soldier who was in the employ of Napoleon\u2019s army there were many and this lad was no different
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

He was not far out of boyhood but joined up I suppose in pursuit of adventure and glory at the emperor\u2019s side<\/em><\/p>\n

Well it was as he planted the Imperial flag within the walls of the besieged city that he received a mortal wound
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

He saw his emperor on a mound such as this watching the battle and like the boy the emperor had been wounded although not as seriously
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Indeed the emperors wound was trite an injury to his right foot
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

But the boy did not to know this and he with a supreme effort mounted a horse and galloped towards Napoleon
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Although the boy was dying he dismounted and stood in front of his beloved emperor gripping the mane of the horse to steady himself
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The boy announced the victory
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Napoleon was greatly impressed by the courage of the dying boy who although in great pain showed no signs of his distress
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

You are wounded lad
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The concern of his emperor touched the boy and his remaining strength began to ebb<\/em><\/p>\n

I am killed Sire
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

These were the boy soldier\u2019s final words and with a smile on his face he fell dead at the emperor\u2019s feet<\/em><\/p>\n

Although many on both sides died on that terrible day Napoleon was greatly moved by the boy\u2019s death and ordered him buried where he fell<\/em><\/p>\n

So the boy soldier is buried in this area<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes we might even be standing above his final resting place
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

How sad but how does this relate to the differing colours of the buttercups in the area<\/em><\/p>\n

Well as I said Napoleon had received a slight would and the emperor noticed that the blood he had spilled was mingling with that of the boy soldier
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

We are joined a humble boy soldier and his emperor
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Touch the red buttercups Lisa what do you feel
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

My hands have become sticky and stained red
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Is your dress stained?<\/em><\/p>\n

With a moment of feminine concern Lisa stood up and inspected her light dress<\/p>\n

She found no stains<\/p>\n

Do not worry the stains will fade when mixed with water and will not soil your clothing
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

But why?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I do not know maybe it was the emperor\u2019s final command that only the hands if in contact with the flowers would exhibit the blood of the boy soldier and his beloved emperor
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

That is one of the mysteries of this area
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Napoleon fought many battles but the red buttercups only appear here<\/em><\/p>\n

David handed a bottle of pure water to his wife and she began pouring it over her hands<\/p>\n

The stains diluted and vanished almost immediately<\/p>\n

Lisa again ran her fingers through the petals of the red buttercups again<\/p>\n

They became stained once more
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

She ran her fingers along the hem of her summers dress<\/p>\n

It remained pristine<\/p>\n

She touched the cover of her poetry book<\/p>\n

See it remains only on your hands until you wash it off
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It reminds me of the Blood of Christ
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Christ died violently on the cross and many men died it the city that day
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Maybe Christ wept and his tears stained the buttercups
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

We will never know
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Davis took his wife\u2019s unsoiled hand and helped her down the shallow mound<\/p>\n

He smiled as the boy soldier had once done<\/p>\n

I think it is now time for us to return to the city
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It is peaceful now
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sadness and Flowers
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some months are tinged with sadness<\/p>\n

They are easily recognised<\/p>\n

As happiness seems so far away<\/p>\n

But as you look into your morning garden<\/p>\n

She is there and shares her space<\/p>\n

With the vivid flowers<\/p>\n

And waits patiently<\/p>\n

For you to open your eyes<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Marie Lou Salazar (1946-1973)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Translated from the Spanish by the author<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Bath Fish<\/strong><\/p>\n

You may live in the River Avon<\/p>\n

And remain hidden from view<\/p>\n

But I know you are watching<\/p>\n

And are waiting for the day<\/p>\n

When you can emerge from the waters<\/p>\n

And replace us in God\u2019s affections<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Battle Song David and Lisa were near the city of Ratisbon They had been exploring the area for a few hours David was carrying a paperback book detailing all of Napoleon\u2019s battles whilst Lisa was carrying a slim volume of poetry by Robert Browning Do you realise that Napoleon stood on one of these mounds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8716"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8716\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}