Nine kings,

Gathered together,

At Windsor Castle

On May 20, 1910,

To mourn the death

Of the late Edward VII.

Standing, left to right;

King Haakon VII of Norway,

Tsar Ferdinand of the Bulgarians,

King Manuel II of Portugal and the Algarve,

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany & Prussia,

King George I of the Hellenes,

King Albert I of the Belgians.

Seated, from left to right:

King Alfonso XIII of Spain,

King George V,

King Frederick VIII of Denmark.

They are ghosts of the past,

12 kingdoms remain*,

But we are unlikely to see the likes of this ever again.

© Caro Ness 2015

There are currently twelve (12) sovereign monarchies in Europe: the Principality of Andorra, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Principality of Monaco, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the State of the Vatican City. Ten of these are states where the head of state (a monarch) inherits his or her office, and usually keeps it for life or until they abdicate. As for the other two: in the Vatican City (an elective monarchy, styled as an absolute theocracy), the head of state, the Sovereign (who is a Pope), is elected at the papal conclave, while in Andorra (technically a semi-elective diarchy), the joint heads of state are the elected President of France and the Bishop of Urgell, appointed by the Pope

Wikipedia

Out of the darkness,

If I cover my eyes

Do you think

My prey

Will see me coming?

© Caro Ness 2015

The Renwick Smallpox Hospital,

Roosevelt Island, New York.

Founded in 1856,

It’s rumoured to be haunted,

The most haunted place in New York State. 

The shattered souls

Who dwelt within its walls

Still walk, still inhabit

This desolate ruin,

A relic of a world forgotten.

© Caro Ness 2015

Photo copyright Robert Keil

I know this thing

Is supposed to keep me

Preoccupied

And normally it does

I like watching tennIs

I chase the ball

Backwards and forwards

Across the net

But today

Nothing

Just a black screen

What happened?

© Caro Ness 2015

The world is blue today.

Trees throw long shadows,

Into the lake,

Bleeding off my page,

And the water reflects back a perfect image.

There are a touch, or two,

Of pink highlights,

In an otherwise cobalt world.

© Caro Ness 2015

  P

My uncle’s car.

It sat four square.

It felt comfortable, 

Cosy,

Safe.

I also felt like a Maharajah,

When I was a passenger in it,

Since it looked as if it belonged

On the streets of Delhi or Mumbai. 

© Caro Ness 2015

From way up here,

In my room at the top of the house,

Cloud and fog

Often bank below me,

But I still have a view,

And what a view!

© Caro Ness 2015

Photo: Isla Ness