Lord Hastings Mistake

             Lord Hastings' Mistake

              (one-sentence poem)

     The Lord Protector, born a crooked dud,
      who wished to be a king, and thereof
     without remorse could barbecue in blood
       a Human being and somebody’s love,
        knew how to destroy, annihilate,
     or make mincemeat of supercilious foe,
    that Richard who can gladly demonstrate
       his mastership in any wicked show,

   with slyness, just instead of honest sword,
  Lord Hastings was entrapped and punished sore,
     since Richard took him at his own word,
   accusing mercilessly and falsely Lady Shore,
     his mistress in a cruel witchcraft deal,
      the woman who had been a comfort vast
    to him, and who had really made him feel
      that happiness would infinitely last,

    but soon flame thirsty octopus will feast,
  all tongues would lick her milk-and-honey skin,
    and scarlet crawling servants of the Beast
   would make her weep like a wounded boar akin,
   when smell of burning would pervade the space,
    and poor Lord Hastings picturing this scene,
      made an attempt that put him in disgrace
        and executed Richard’s plan so keen;

     by saying “if”, Lord Hastings put his whole
   sweet life to end, stream-lined the way to use
          a noble impulse of sincere soul
       in order to condemn the soul to lose
      its body, just because of fleet desire,
     instinctive useless graciousness on which
        built Richard his account surefire
    to cut Lord Hastings’ head and burn the witch.


                ***

Примечание.
Лорд Хастингс – герой пьесы Шекспира «Ричард III».