Speeches as sonnets

In Competition No. 3117 you were invited to recast a famous political speech as a sonnet.
 
Lots of you went for Elizabeth I’s address to the troops at Tilbury, but James Aske got there first in 1588, with a verse reworking  that appeared in Elizabetha Triumphans, his celebration of the Armada victory.
 
Well done: you were on mischievous form this week and clearly gave careful thought to your choice of speech. The winners, who each pocket £20, are printed below. First up is Ann Drysdale’s version of Cromwell’s dissolution of the rump parliament.

It’s time to close the curtain on this farce,
Your petty squabblings and your rotten cores.
You call yourselves a Parliament? My arse!
You’re just a gathering of thieves and whores.
You sell your country for your private gain,
Betray your God for profit, which is worse.
You mercenary wretches can’t remain;
You have no more religion than my horse!
The nation hates you; you were voted here
To ease the people’s grievances. This place
Has now become their greatest grievance. Clear
This sacred hall! Remove that stupid Mace!
Now take your greedy noses from the trough —
In God’s name, lock the doors and bugger off!
Ann Drysdale/Cromwell’s speech to the Commons, 1653
 
My loving people, though I have been warned
To shun the crowds, for trouble may befall,
You’ll find it is advice that I have scorned,
I plan to dice with death beside you all.
A woman’s weak, they say; I’ll play my part,
Let me assure the troops that I’ve got balls
And, in the midst of war, I have the heart
And stomach of a king when duty calls.
I’ll cheer you on, while shouting ‘All aboard!’
And launch the greatest victory of my reign,
We’ll overpower this wild, Hispanic horde
And free our country from the threat of Spain.
If any prince of Europe should invade
We’ll fight — take back control — we’re not afraid!
Sylvia Fairley/Queen Elizabeth I, Tilbury, 1588
 
Our fathers eighty-seven years ago
Conceived a nation where all men were free
And proudly equal.