The Huguenot



"Love knows not its own depth until the hour
of separation." –Khalil Gibran


The orange moon ascends beyond the leaves
Like a child's balloon—upward it looms
Against nebulous night; upward it heaves
Its ancient amber light until it rooms
Itself in a muted, vacuous sky ...

There, alone below the moon's tender glow,
Helena holds back tears wondering why
Her dear love had to die. Creeds cannot know
The love that lovers undergo, nor feel
Or fathom its sacred birth: when two souls
Touch in a plain beyond this earth in real
And deepest ecstasy. Yet now there rolls
Soft tears from the heart of a broken soul
Whose only love, by a murderous plot,
Was killed on a leisurely moonlit stroll,
Because she was Catholic, and he was not.

About this poem

A coworker of mine asked me to write a tragic love poem: since she is from India, I wrote a tragic love story about a Muslim girl (Haleema) who was in mutual love with a boy of another religion: a Sikh. Religious intolerance violently intervened. "The Huguenot" is a transliterated version of the poem that I wrote for my friend. It is about the love that a Catholic girl had for a French Protestant boy, a Huguenot, who also loved her very deeply. Unfortunately, during the 16th century, the Catholics and the Huguenots were in deep and murderous antipathy with one another, making a relationship between the lovers impossible: hence the poem.  

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by Vixility on June 28, 2023

41 sec read
126

Quick analysis:

Scheme XA BCBCA DADEFEFGHGH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 742
Words 137
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 2, 5, 11

John W. May

John W. May has lived in Colorado all his life. He currently works in the field of ophthalmology and loves to mountain bike and read about history. John first became a lover of poetry in 2008 after having read a poem by John Milton. He has been reading and studying the works of various poets since. His favorite poets are Emily Dickinson, Fyodor Tyutchev and W. B. Yeats. more…

All John W. May poems | John W. May Books

39 fans

Discuss the poem The Huguenot with the community...

5 Comments
  • nfowke
    Family legend tells the tale of my 'Huguenot' ancestors fleeing persecution in France in C16. Sadly 'murderous antipathy ' is still casting long dark shadows across the centuries.
    I loved your depiction of the moon in the first stanza ... wonderful imagery. 
    LikeReply 17 months ago
    • Vixility
      Wow, it’s hard enough to imagine that tragic event unfolding, but to have family lineage that traces back to it? Man …
      LikeReply7 months ago
  • Jewoo525
    Your stylistic choices are what definitely caught my eye during the contest, I knew this was something special but couldn't put a finger on why. Seeing the "about the poem" section better conveys the details that I may have missed during my initial scouring of the entries this month. My instincts were correct, but sadly my existing knowledge of the nuances behind Protestant-Catholic relationships lead me amiss. Excellent poem and well-deserving of an award. 
    LikeReply 19 months ago
    • Vixility
      Hey, thank you for stopping by. I agree. I struggled with whether or not I should keep the title, as I was almost certain not very many people would know what a Huguenot was. In the end, I decided that it was the best title. Even at the risk of not receiving any votes, I had to be true to the poem itself. 
      LikeReply 29 months ago
  • lovingempath
    Your unique style reminds me of...well...you! Beautifully visual piece of art John!
    LikeReply 19 months ago
    • Vixility
      Warms my heart to hear you say that. It was a fun composition to say the least. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
      LikeReply 19 months ago
  • atomicashton42
    It was written the best and they clearly put effort and time into their poem. I wish my poem was as good as this one. Good job!
    LikeReply 19 months ago
    • Vixility
      Hey, thank you for your comment. It was a fun poem to work with. With regard to your work, I thought you did an excellent job: who on earth couldn’t relate to your words?
      LikeReply9 months ago
  • jeremyt.40101
    Your poem paints the setting beautifully.
    LikeReply 19 months ago
    • Vixility
      Thank you thank you! I also appreciated the quality work of your sonnet.
      LikeReply9 months ago

Translation

Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Citation

Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"The Huguenot" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/163956/the-huguenot>.

Become a member!

Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

April 2024

Poetry Contest

Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
2
days
11
hours
5
minutes

Special Program

Earn Rewards!

Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

Browse Poetry.com

Quiz

Are you a poetry master?

»
To be, or not to be: that is the _______
A question
B answer
C doubt
D choice