King Henry VIII married six wives
who only birthed him three children.
The precious boy died a child.
The abandoned firstborn’s brief reign
ended in the pouring of heretic blood.
The fiery redhead, disputed to be his,
sealed the dynasty’s fate with the closing
of her legs.
How does a king, obsessed
with leaving an heir,
marry six women
(half named Catherine,
all but one distant cousins,
only the second beheaded for incest)
and have three children?
Did Catherine of Aragon really bed Prince Arthur?
Was Anne Boleyn truly a witch?
Is it too convenient that Jane Seymour died in childbirth?
Was it physically possible for Anne of Cleves to resemble a horse?
Was the horny teenaged Catherine Howard expected to behave as a Queen?
Did Catherine Parr remain barren until she married Thomas Seymour?
King Henry VIII married six wives
who only birthed him three children.
Did his Queens all fail to recognize their duty?
Lie on thy back. Receive the seed!
Or was poor little Harry less of a king,
and more of an impotent fool?
© 2015 Nortina Simmons
Nortina's Writing Inspiration Well 
So how can you like a post twice? I loved your piece. You’ve asked the right question too. He could’ve been impotent but was he a fool to marry so many? I don’t know. It depends on whether he really thought that a woman’s will mattered at all.
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Thanks to science, we now know that the man determines the sex of the baby, so it looks like little Henry was either shootin’ blanks or X’s. 😀 He could’ve at least waited until the first queen died… of natural causes! Lol.
BTW, I’m glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for dropping by!
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I’d vote for blanks.
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Definitely a thought provoking piece, lol.
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This is my absolute favorite time period! I love all things Tudor. 🙂 Great poem. If I could travel back in time, that is exactly where I’d go!
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Thanks, and I’m right there with you!
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