Trudy Howson

We're delighted to share three new works, written and narrated by LGBT Poet Laureate Trudy Howson as part of our online poetry celebrations for 2020. 

The poems below explore themes of the environment, a female perspective and gender fluidity as revealed within Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

THE FOREST OF ARDEN: A SONNET

Lets take a journey back to Shakespeare’s day,
When verdant forest coated England’s heart.
With Oak and Ash and Birch, and flowering May,
A place of mystery and Fairy Art. 

Beside a path of Stitchwort and sweet Thyme,
A handsome youth is by his cattle led. 
There, hidden from view by thorny Eglantine,
The Fairy Queen sleeps on a Primrose bed. 

A Willow grows aslant a glassy stream,
Where sweet Ophelia finally laid her head.
Alas, that forest now is but a dream,
That wild and wonderland is almost dead. 

Man’s lust for power, money, need to own,
Has changed that place, to tarmac, brick and stone.

WOMAN AND WIFE

My name was Anne Hathaway, a maiden like no other,
Acting as a mother to my father and my brother.
I fell in love with a younger man and gladly took his name,
Mrs. Shakespeare is a name of fortitude and fame. 

My husband is a playwright a poet and a wit.
It takes him far away from home, but I don’t mind a bit.
In London he makes the fortune that facilitates our life,
Then he rides 3 days to visit his devoted, waiting wife. 

I am mistress of our beautiful home, and run it as I will,
I order this and purchase that, my husband pays the bill.
I care not that he is not the most attentive, ardent lover.
His affection shows in his support, of our children and my brother. 

Yes, I am a dutiful daughter, mother, friend and wife.
I don’t burden my dear husband with petulance or strife.
It is unseemly for a woman to disobey a man,
Though this can be a challenge, I do the best I can 

William wanted Anne Hathaway to be his wedded wife,
And I became the wife my husband needed in his life.
His London life is different, dramatic, fancy-free.
But when his work is over, he will return to me.

GENDER-BENDER   

In Shakespeare’s plays a man could be
A handsome boy, a maid, or gender free.
For women were not allowed on stage,
A woman as herself would society outrage. 

With that in mind, the Bard wrote plays
That blurred the boundaries of straights and gays.
Where men loved women, who were actually men,
Who then, pretended to be men again. 

What a merry dance of love led he,
Its gender was fluid, he, she or thee.
His audience liked romantic thrills,
And it suited his lifestyle and paid his bills. 

For there, within his work could he,
Explore the possibility of love set free.
Wherein the duality of life he sought
Fame and fortune to him brought. 

A happy man he, in either life
With a lover and a dutiful wife.
Successful, with no need to ration,
The master-mistress of his passion.

About Trudy Howson

Trudy Howson is the UK’s inaugural L.G.B.T. Poet Laureate. In response to this appointment, she writes and performs poetry that celebrates internationally recognized L.G.B.T. days, and responds to events that impact on the community. Her poetry illuminates and explores the community’s diverse landscape, champions their rights and needs, and encourages acceptance and understanding. 

Video credits

Harp music "Summer's Dream" composed and played by Ozlem Simsek. Filmed and produced by Maria Robinson. Powered by Love Films 2020.