Charlotte Corday, 1793

When Charlotte Corday arrived in Paris,

She had only one thing on her mind:

To rid the world of Jean Paul Marat--

The veritable scourge of humankind.

Leaning toward the moderate Girondins,

Corday despised the Jacobin stance

Of killing opposers of the Revolution

And terrorizing the people of France.

Marat incited the Jacobin furor

With his deeply radical point of view.

Corday also blamed him for causing

The September Massacres of '92.

After journeying to Paris from Caen,

She found a shop, purchased a knife,

Wrote some words to the "friends of peace,"

And then set out to take Marat's life.

Imagine Marat in his bathtub writing--

An awkward position to find oneself in

When seeing guests; however, he suffered

From horrible sores all over his skin.

Corday spoke of an uprising

And provided names at Marat's request.

Then she took out the six-inch blade

And plunged it into the "monster's" chest.

Apprehended, tried and sentenced,

Corday drew some attention when

She asked to have her portrait painted.

(They milked the media even back then!)

Marat became a martyr--a man

Who'd caused innocent blood to be shed.

His body was marched through the crowded streets

While Charlotte Corday lost her head.

To save a hundred thousand lives

By killing one was Corday's goal;

But Marat's death wouldn't stop

The Terror, for more heads would roll.

Corday claimed she was acting alone

When choosing a course of action to take.

Unintended consequences

Often follow decisions we make.   

-by Bob B (6-24-16; 2-7-18)