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Poem: “The Pearl of York”

by on Aug 11, 2011 in Poetry
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The Pearl of York
St. Margaret Clitherow

A girl, a lady,
Wife, a mother,
From church of England
She saw the other.

The other, where,
Her church came from.
The other, where,
The fruit was plumb.

The other, where,
Her church beat down,
And looted jewels
For earthly crown.

And watching, she,
Was irritated,
And slowly grew
Sophisticated.

Sitting, silent,
In her shell,
Her home, a place,
Where priests could dwell,

Confect the Mass,
Many saved,
For this, their limbs
And lives were braved.

Because a woman
Kept her shell,
A jealous fortress
Barring hell.

And then the weak
Pried open wide,
Exposing truth,
The shell’s inside,

Where mother, wife,
Lady, girl,
Had turned into
York’s royalist pearl.

Hilary McRee Flanery


Hilary McRee Flanery studied Theatre Arts in college at Webster University in St. Louis Missouri, USA. She has been in numerous theatre productions over the last 20 years but her real claims to fame have been "Opening Nights" in leading roles on delivery tables throughout the US Midwest where she has performed and produced ten children.


"Raising a large family and writing means that I set up strict priorities. I start each day with a prayer that has been in my family since God was a boy - 'Come Holy Ghost...give me the faith of your Saints, the courage of your martyrs, and the money and success of your athiests.'"

Hilary and her husband, Randy, have been hapily married for 30 years and are certifiably insane. They know this to be a fact since Randy is a Clinical Psychologist.

The Flanerys reside in St. Louis, Missouri with their 10 children, termites and a large bottle of wine. She blogs at www.hilaryflanery.blogspot.com.