THE DIRGE
The Prince has returned with his long, lost bride
A troop of soldiers march by his side
And solemnly, with measured tread
Bear aloft the lamented dead
The regal standard embraces the wood
Gold for her life, red for her blood
Her sisters, stalwart, mirror the pain
As the People's Princess comes home again
Mourners howl at the cold palace gates
Commoners, Kings and Heads of State
A field of wreaths cover the ground
Hillocks of flowers, mound upon mound
The sun rises mute, a blighted day dawning
Numbed by the grief of a nation in mourning
The Princess has shaken her mortal coil
Her life of loving, devoted toil
And there she now lies in a state of grace
Leaving a hollow none can replace
Laid to rest in the land of her birth
Dust unto dust in good British earth
Sorrows and tears are all in the past
Peace, perfect peace for Diana at last
THE FUNERAL
The sun burns down with a glorious light
Scattering shreds of the lingering night
On those who at their vigils wait
Outside the Kensington Palace gate
And all along the route she'll ride
Her people have gathered, side by side
To pay last respects and say goodbye
As the one they love is carried by
The waiting crowd is stilled at last
The palace flag hangs forlorn at half-mast
The royal gun carriage goes rattling through
The flag bedecked coffin in awful view
The crowd throws flowers, they moan and cry
As her troops and soldiers stately ride by
The old Queen in black, bows her head
Respect for the one who is newly dead
And then behind the carriage comes
Her brother, her Prince, her two grieving sons
And the muffled tones of Westminster's bell
Tolled every minute, Diana's death knell
With faces pressed against glossy wood
Eight soldiers true, eight soldiers good
Carried aloft England's pride
To those in the Abbey waiting inside
Who had come to rejoice the times and life
Of she who was once their Prince's wife
The boy King and his brother kept
Heads bowed down as they silently wept
Elton John sang of England's rose
Her sisters read her favourite prose
And the choir sang with voices strong
Of she who would be forever young
And speakers told the amazing story
Of a loving Princess steeped in glory
Whilst outside, the waiting throngs
United to sing her funeral songs
But all flowers must wither and blow away
As day follows night and night follows day
PERSPECTIVE
In a box
In an island
In an island
On a lake
Diana took the journey
That all of us must take
In a lake
In a country
In a country on the seas
Diana lies at rest
'Neath lush and fragrant trees
On the seas of a planet
Whirling round in space
In the vastness of the universe
Diana lies in grace
In a box
In an island
In an island
On a lake
