Carved Thee
​For Her Seal

by Diana Webb

​

​Even as she lies there, the image made three score and ten years back is shifting. The image that will appear on future documents to signify the monarch's approval. Yet in the minds of millions, her image lingers, imprinted forever. Nature had made her for that role and people of many nations file past to honour her, the way she stood fast and never faltered. On the screen this September morning, one of the figures moving silently, taking her turn, stands out, as she turns to face the dead queen, her long black hair cascading, while she bows low, bows low, bows low, bows low in reverence. Does she also have her personal hanko with which she'll mark her recollections of this moment?

​​a red leaf
pressed to a paving stone
step after step

The title is taken from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 11.

Widely published in the haibun form, Diana Webb has received two first prizes for her work in the genre. She edits the print journal Time Haiku and has twice guest-edited the online journal Drifting Sands. Her most recent haibun collections , both published in 2022 by The Magic Pen Press in 2022,  are Fragile Horizons and A Glimpse of the Gate. Diana enjoys devising and leading haibun workshops. 

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