In memory of Farzad Kamanger - executed today

In memory of Farzad Kamanger

 

The Tichborne Elegy by Chidiock Tichborne (1558 – September 20, 1586)

My prime of youth is but a frost of cares,

My feast of joy is but a dish of pain,

My crop of corn is but a field of tares,

And all my good is but vain hope of gain;

The day is past, and yet I saw no sun,

And now I live, and now my life is done.

My tale was heard and yet it was not told,

My fruit is fallen, and yet my leaves are green,

My youth is spent and yet I am not old,

I saw the world and yet I was not seen;

My thread is cut and yet it is not spun,

And now I live, and now my life is done.

I sought my death and found it in my womb,

I looked for life and saw it was a shade,

I trod the earth and knew it was my tomb,

And now I die, and now I was but made;

My glass is full, and now my glass is run,

And now I live, and now my life is done.

 

 This poem was written by an ancestor of mine, Chidiock Tichborne, shortly before his execution by Elizabeth I for his part in the Babington plot. It is one of the most well known poems of the era and has been read in memory of many political prisoners upon their execution.  To me, it still seems to be meaningful and strangely contemporary.

Vicki Morris details on her blog how a Kurdish Iranian teacher  - Farzad Kamanger was executed today. Chidiock wrote the words above aged 28 in 1586. Following his brutal execution their was an outcry and the process of hanging, drawing and quartering prisoners whilst still alive was outlawed in England.

I rather hope that in some small way some good comes out of Farzad Kamangers tragically short life and his brutal death. I hope that some time soon, my ancestors poem becomes merely a poem, rather than a tribute to young men murdered by repressive regimes.