poem: "Master Tallis speaks"
Title: Master Tallis speaks
Fandom: The Tudors, Thomas Tallis
Author: mistress_tallis
Feedback/Comments:
Author Note: written on November 23, 1997
Master Tallis speaks
When I passed over
there were no angel choirs
triumphing behind golden rood-screens,
no trumpets, no heavenly court...
only hands extended,
and warmth and light,
and a gentle voice:
"You were fitted with a gentle temper,
flexible spirit, quiet heart,
a mind tuned to the weaving of sound.
Son, what have you done with what I gave?"
"You know, Lord,
how I failed,
just a servant common-born doing what was required,
often in resignation, sometimes in fear.
What you gave returns worn with the passage of years,
scuffed and scorched by struggles past memory.
I am exhausted.
Turn me from the pomp and plotting of the earthly court
to your own,
and I will sing for you
as I have never sung."
And Mercy extended her hands--
a familiar, welcome gesture.