10. Entry from Julia Hawkes-Moore
A Valentine’s poetry competition for lovers of history
Anna Throndsen's Sweet Revenge on James Bothwell
I will build you a filigree tower,
Enclosing itself like a shell,
Wrought from the ice of a crystal
And ringing as clear as a bell.
I will fill it with spun-silver cobwebs,
Hung about with the frost of a pearl,
To each spire I will fasten a banner,
For each breeze to softly unfurl.
All this I will plant in a garden,
Every vista disclosing a bower,
Verdant with willow and cypress,
And every sweet herb and flower,
Then smiling gently in envy,
The while of this land I’ll enclose
With soaring and dense palisades
Of sharply-thorned ruby red rose.
And lastly, ecstatic in vengeance,
Your imprisonment there I will cause,
Immuring you in my Paradise,
As you have enthralled me in yours.
Julia Hawkes-Moore
We were delighted to receive so many entries to this competition. We asked for a Valentine’s Day Poem with rhyming couplets written for any figure from history.
Please CLICK HERE to read all the poems and then CLICK HERE to vote.
The winner will be announced on St Valentine’s Day and will received a framed copy of their poem.




Fabulous imagery and rhythm
Love it! So elegant....