Redonda

(in memory of M. P. Shiel and John Gawsworth
In eighteen sixty-five an Irish merchant found an island in the ocean.
It rose up so majestic like a crown upon the Caribbean blue;
He claimed it as an undiscovered Kingdom that he swore would last forever:
He named his little boy as King to make a father s fantasy come true.

Officials up in London thought the father and the Kingdom both were crazy;
They hoisted up the Union Jack to claim the island for their bloody own.
The story of the Kingdom still survives in all its tarnished, royal splendor;
And high up in the sky the birds look down upon the island all alone.

The island that was found was called Redonda, with a legend left behind.
The kingdom that was crowned is called Redonda. It s a royal state of mind.
The Kingdom of Redonda&

The little boy grew up and went to London where he earned to be a writer,
And on his death, the Kingdom like a legacy was left unto a friend.
The Kingdom lost some glory down the years, but it acquired some jaded wisdom.
The troubadours and jesters and the Dukes declare the Kingdom has no end!
1985