I’ve Lain Beneath the Apple Tree (Circa, Summer of 2014)
I've lain beneath the apple tree
That crowned the mother of you and me.
Whose innocent heart and serpent tongue
Did light the Renaissance ashone.
Within the tower of that great city,
Imprisoned, she feared in pity,
Her life asunder, counted less,
In prayer was she in great duress.
But on that blessed day, they came,
The riders to crown that royal dame.
Put upon her hand the signet ring,
The symbol that made her queen.
Upon the trodden ground said she,
Beneath the apple tree,
"God's doing this be."
I’ve found great inspiration reading the private writings, poems and thoughts of Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603). She was a woman unlike any other in her day: well-educated, passionate, wise and full of wit and spoke at least six languages. She is responsible for leading England into an age of unprecedented peace and prosperity, giving room for the arts and commerce as well as such persons as Shakespeare, to thrive, which along with other persons, paved the way for the artistic revolution of the arts in the Italian Renaissance.
The sign reads, “This oak tree was planted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the 22nd July 1985 on the site of the original oak tree under which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I heard of the succession of the throne.”
When Elizabeth found out that her vicious half-sister, known as Bloody Mary, had died, she was reading in a field under an apple tree. When the messengers arrived, they knelt before her to declare her coronation as queen and she said in Latin, “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
I was fortunate to not only walk in the same field under this apple tree, but also to visit the rest of the grounds, the place that was her home. I stood in front of this famous portrait, viewed her library collection and walked in her private garden. I was the only guest at Hatfield House that day. What a treasure to explore and have it all to myself. Oh, if only Elizabeth knew how much her victories and struggles would inspire so many women to come.
I wrote “I’ve Lain Beneath the Apple Tree” in commemoration of that special day in my life.