Heroine on Bed of Clay

Jean D’arc asleep on prison grounds,
Now hushed to calmness by soft sounds,
An angel singing at her feet,
A lullaby both pure and sweet…

A heroine who’ll no more fight,
Who softly slips into the night,
On wings of spoken tenderness,
The angel’s hands in soft caress,

A paragon of bravery,
In bringing France from slavery,
A blazing heart, with battle skill,
But forces set to do her ill,

Undaunted by the English yoke,
She left the army sore and broke!
She roused the Dauphin forces wild,
And showed them how her sword is styl’d!

She broke the siege at Orléans,
Enacting brilliant battle plans,
And at the battle of Patay,
Her flashing metal won the day,

So drift into the moonbeam play!
Your body safe on grassy clay,
Give o’er to the balm of sleep,
And make a bow at heaven’s keep,

For I will watch your body now,
And daub the sweat from off your brow,
Ensuring God is here in truth,
Alive in you and bright forsooth,

For on the morrow you will die,
Beneath the gaping Rouen sky,
Alight in flame, and cast a witch,
Before you’re burned to charcoal pitch,

So now I do my duty dark,
And speak my prayers for you, Jean D’arc,
Before you take your final breath,
And journey onwards, up to death…

AD Lovkis, 20/06/25