Did he come on days like this
crossing the park through crests of snow
that glisten under this brilliant sun
white as swans swimming
the waters here
on a summer’s day?
Did he come seeking solitude,
peace of mind,
light a fire on the hearth
of this lonely Hermitage built just for him,
catch his reflection in polished marble floors
as he pondered matters of State
or matters of Heart
unknown to history?
Did he watch ducks waddling
over these same shoals of ice,
see the open water blue beyond
and the rim of reeds,
the woods on the far shore,
and the view to the church in Sacrow?
Was he,
in all his glorious supremacy,
not simply a man like me?
American born and raised, Robin V. Herrnfeld writes out of Potsdam. Always an avid reader and interested in writing, she also enjoys roaming around historical sites.
Posted on March 5, 2009 in Poems
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14 Responses to “KING FREDERICK'S HERMITAGE • by Robin V. Herrnfeld”
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March 5th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Poem about an inferior king who chose aloneness, not communication, solitary musings about matters of state, not discussion. Written in the conforming contemporary way with nothing untoward, or outstanding.
It is not strongly felt as sympathy with or against the king as the reader realizes that the king, in all his “glorious supremacy,” is not living up to his heavy responsibilities. One turns back on the poet, wishing to say, “But of course he isn’t. His priveleges are both more and less than others.”
March 5th, 2009 at 7:05 am
The point of this is more to the idea that we all look out upon the same natural world and may ponder it in similar ways whether we are kings or mere mortals without royal powers. The poem really isn’t about the king as much as the larger question of how the person inside the title really thinks. I liked the wistful tone here.
March 5th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I enjoyed this poem and agree with Kathleen. So wistful.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Hi Robin
Agree with Kathleen, enjoyed it
fehmida
March 5th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Thank you very much, Kathleen, for your interpretation. The poem developed from musings on whether, 200 hundred-some years ago, this King would have been seeing very much the same view that I am seeing today, and that – for all his “royal” power – a King is just a human being like any other with the need for quiet meditation and time alone to enjoy Nature’s beauty.
Robin
March 5th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Very nice, Robin.
March 5th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I like the majesty of the simplicity of the picture. One man’s (woman’s) musing is the same as any other, given similar situations, regardless of station in life or place in time.
I enjoyed this.
March 5th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Liked the vision–that’s the sun shines and the rain falls–on each no matter what their station.
–dj
March 5th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
And wasn’t it Shakespeare’s King Henry who, on the night before the battle, went forth disguised among his troops and suggested that perhaps the king was ‘but a man’?
Very nice work, Robin.
March 5th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Robin, I really liked the poignancy of this; we all have the same feelings and thoughts, wherever, whenever, whoever we are. It made me want to ‘Google’ the names and places. Lovely.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I think this poem went very well; reflective and poignant.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Thank you for all the kind comments.
March 6th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Agreed we all have the same biology and all like to “getaway” sometimes to charming villas to admire nature at long length, a king has no right to lonely hermitages, something other people may choose. If we could commiserate with a king who moaned that he may not, sympathy could be felt for him. But the people are sore oppressed and the wisemen have assembled for discussion.
March 7th, 2009 at 6:58 am
Agreed that we all have the same biology and all like to “getaway” sometimes to charming villas to admire nature at long length, a king has no right to such lonely hermitages, something oter people may choose. We could commiserate, sympathize, with a king who groaned that he may not as others do, but the people are sore afflicted and the wisemen are waiting in assembly for discussion.