A Dream
I’m with King Charles III
& I’m crucified on an ‘Irish cross’
(not a Celtic cross, kind of brambly)
He lets me cut myself down
We’re friends now
I ask if I can keep the ‘commemorative “Finn” (which I think means 'Fenian')
cushion which come with the crucifixions
(The strings on the small Irish Harp design on the cushion looked more like prison bars)
“We don’t use these anymore”
& that “Finn” to the English
“Means the little Irish”
I’m somewhat shaken by the whole experience
But he offers me a scotch
A nice one ̶
An Islay one by the taste of it
He is warm to me like a grandfather
After a while
He has to go off with some of his aides
& leaves me there
I am called over to the window by the procession of passersby outside
An Eastern European pair of women ask me if I’d like a sip of Advocaat
Which I do
Then they ask if they can have a sip of
My (I guess “The” (as in 'Royal') whiskey
Which I share with mixed feelings
(Drunk codes and propriety clash, you see)
I go back to my seat
& resume my audience with King Charles
(He doesn't seem put out, mind you he has a few glasses in front of him)
By now he starts to look tired
I say to him
“You look tired, I’d better go”
I bow & say, racking my brain for the right words,
“My Liege”
(I guess I’d heard it somewhere in Shakespeare)
I felt a little awkward coz the rest of it had all felt natural
& I was worried about Charles’ aides, Charles didn’t mind
I’m sure it wasn’t the right words
How would I know what to say? – I’d just come off a cross
Anyway, I left and woke.
And the day that followed was like a psychic hurricane.
Published & Copyright Malachi Doyle 2023.
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