The Battle of Bosworth Field: Richard III

We Yorks and the Lancasters
At ends we had met;
I am the king,
But the war's not over yet.

Two dynasties fighting
For right of the crown,
But the Lancaster family
Would soon be beat down. (1)

In this House of York,
I was the Duke,
And some think my becoming king
Was just a minor fluke.

When people got in my way,
I shut them down,
Not feeling any regret
Or even showing a frown. (2)

When the Lancastrians came
To rival my court herein,
My knights and I laughed;
We would surely win.

The House of Lancaster
thought Henry VII should be king,
And I disagreed with
Much more that that little thing.

And there were many supporters
On my side,
And even if many
Of them would die,

I knew my army
Couldn't be beat,
And I'd never think
He would taste defeat. (3)

Our armies met in at Bosworth,
August of 1485,
And Henry's surely knew
Not all would come out alive. (4)

My army fought
So valiantly,
But besides that,
This gallantry

Would not prevent
The slaughter that occurred
And the devastation that was caused
By the swinging of a sword.

I thought I'd never fall
This very day,
But before I died,
I could at least say

I took some Lancastrians
With me to the beyond,
And all my supporters
Were obviously still fond

Of the things
That I did
For England
And the politics amid

The ruthless murders
The Lancastrians remember,
But even in the end
I never surrendered

I was killed in the battle,
A brave way to go,
And the histories about me
Surely all show

The triumphs I made
When I was still around
And even though now,
With my bones in the ground,

I, Richard III,
Still live on,
And til everyone forgets,
I will never be gone. (5)




(1)

Warpole, Horace. "Richard III Society--Online Library." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bookcase/walpole/walpole1.html.

(2)

More, Thomas. "Richard III." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bookcase/more/moretext.html.

(3)

"Richard III Society- Ballad of Bosworth, Text." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bosworth/ballad2.html.

(4)

"Richard III Society-Bosworth Field." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bosworth/index.html.

(5)

Warpole, Horace. "Richard III Society--Online Library." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bookcase/walpole/walpole1.html.