The Silence of Anne Askew

By -

A woman you destroy, for a woman you need
In your quest for heresy,
You look for the Queen
By pulling each bone out of me
My body screams
But I will not say her name.
You test me with torture, though already condemned
For speaking of scriptures
On the streets and with friends
But I believe these words will live
Long after I am dead
And I will not say her name.



Copyright LJ 2021.

(Anne Askew was a 16th Century Protestant Martyr who was friends with Queen Catherine Parr.)

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