Writers Forum #99 January 2010

YOUTH CONTEST
Divorced, Beheaded, Died
by Owen Moore, aged 12
My Lords at the Privy Council,
I am King Henry the Eighth of England and I write to you today to beseech
you to give me a lawful divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
I have been a good king have I not? Yet I have not yet been blessed with a
son (as you know I deserve) to reign after I am dead. All of my children have
been born still or have died within the womb. I know that God takes and gives
life as he pleases but now, I fear, Catherine is too old to bear child again.
‘And if a man shall take his brother’s wife it is an unclean thing,’ quoth the
bible, ‘he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness: they shall be childless.’
She was my brother’s widow and I admit to you that I was wrong to marry
her and I wish to put my sins right by remarrying a younger woman who
will bear many strong children capable of ruling Great Britain and not letting
our glorious country fall to the Spanish or the French. I sincerely believe that
this is God’s will, otherwise why would he have taken all my children from
this world?
I hope you will think about all of the things I have said and bring your
decision swiftly in my favour.
Henry VIII
young mind still filled with the sensible child-like outlook on the
world. He couldn’t wrap his head around his family’s motive for lying
to the police. He was only young. Majesty,
Carl let out a little sigh, letting his feet carry him closer to the park. We do not think it is wise to be so rash. Maybe thou shouldst think about
His mother had warned him to not go to this part of town without an the consequences of divorcing Catherine of Aragon. Thou knowst the Pope’s
adult. But he didn’t see the harm, not on a beautiful day like this. view on this and we do not think he would change his mind even for a mighty
Suddenly Carl’s thoughts were interrupted by shouts and his head king such as yourself.
snapped up, looking around wide-eyed as he saw the gang of boys Breaking from Rome is unwise, My Lord, your loyal Catholic subjects
ahead of him, a scuffle having broken out. He tried to turn, get away, might ﬁ nd the change hard to accept and we could face an uprising.
and escape into the playground, his safe haven. The Pope is too powerful to take on. Doing so could lead to a war that we
The gunshot cracked through the air like a whip, faster than Carl can scarcely afford.
could blink, and he fell backwards to the ground, never to reach his Thou hast been happily married for twenty-four years, and besides
destination. Catherine is a Spanish princess. We are sure thou dost not want to offend the
In the following days following Carl Johnson’s death, the police Spaniards by divorcing her. They may try to wage war on your noble country
followed up a number of potential witnesses who had been there. and we could be facing a war on two fronts, a precarious situation which we
But no one had seen anything. feel you will want to avoid.
We urge thee to reconsider.
Kirsty-Louise goes to Trinity High School in Rutherglen and likes writing, The Privy Council.
listening to music and reading books by Jodi Picoult, John Boyne and
Stephenie Meyer.
My Lords,
Do you not know who I am?
This is my country. The Pope should not have any power over my people or
what I do. The king must have complete control over his people.
Sky
Breaking from the Catholic Church is the right thing to do. The church is
too rich and corrupt with their taxes and all the land owned by the monas-
teries. If we go through with this (and do not doubt that we will) the war can
by Charlotte Henson, aged 15
be funded, even if it lasts one hundred years, and the monarchs of England
will be rich still for generations after that.
If the Pope wants war then let there be war.
Endless azure expanse, inﬁ nitely If you refuse me again I will have your heads.
calling, and yet… the sight of you makes me
bitter. Limitless constraints and untold Henry VIII
choices wait in your cerulean depths.
Garbed in clouds, soft as the shadows that creep
over town at dusk, you beckon. But you Owen goes to Stoke Newington School in Hackney, London, where he
know I can’t. I wish to soar to meet the enjoys PE (especially football), drama and history. His favourite authors
heavens, and dance with angels. I yearn to are Philip Pullman and Robert Muchamore.
glide with the birds, to sing for the weary
farmer at dawn. But I am grounded, tied
to land always. Or so I thought, but the
day I spread my wings I promised never HOW TO ENTER
to look away as the sun peers through the This free competition aims to encourage school pupils (under 16)
clouds again. Even if it burns my eyes. to start writing. Email us your stories and poems. Deadline is around
15th of each month but all late entries go into the next contest. For
details, see our website at www.writers-forum.com or send a blank email to
Charlotte attends the Pupil Learning Centre in Bury and enjoys English, youthform@writers-forum.com. The address to send your entries to is
art and ICT. Her favourite authors are Stephen King and Garth Nix. youthcontest@writers-forum.com. Good luck!
Writers
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