Long Live the Queen
Once upon a time, I ran a fan page for Queen and Freddie Mercury. My very first website was a fan site for Queen and Highlander.
From 2014-2019, I ran Freddie Days on Facebook from September 5 to November 24. Freddie Days was a labor of love. After five years with little to no interaction, I chose to close my fan page in 2020.
From here on out, I'm going to fangirl on my website, and you're welcome to follow along. Have ideas for 2021, or just want to talk about Freddie and Queen? Email me!
New for September 5, 2020: Mercury Rising.
In 2016, Penny Dreadful publications published my poem, "Mercury Rising," in The Show Must Go On: Short Fiction and Poetry Inspired by Freddie Mercury and Queen. It's now out of print and no longer on Amazon, and I own the rights to my poem, so here it is for all of you (with minor updates). Enjoy!
Mercury Rising
by Edie Montreux
He sat behind a scarred, cheap desk
Blackboard spread behind him for miles
Or so it seemed
So diminutive
Still good to see him
Better than at the end.
I remember hearing of his death
On the five o’clock news
After cheerleading practice.
November, beginning of basketball season
Everyone speculating from the previous day
“We knew he had AIDS,” they said (Don’t they know all)
On the 24th, they stopped speculating and simply mourned.
On the 24th, he was gone.
Yet here he appeared, in Lang Hall on a bright September day
Chalk dust on his Lurex pants
Pink eraser litter dotting his white trainers
Mustache intact, hair slicked back
Perfect complexion, lacquered voice and unique smile
Sparkling against the dim room and rotting desks
Sorely out of place and loving it
Just like the South America tour.
He dusted his shoes and placed his feet on the desktop
Directly into a stream of light
Racing toward the desk
Escaped from the outside prison through
A crack in the blinds
It ran to be a part of him.
Like me.
To mirror his brightness while
He blinded the world one more time
From a classroom in the middle of nowhere.
Is this heaven?
I suppose it could be. You don’t know?
His hypnotizing gaze met mine.
What are you trying to tell me, Freddie?
I would give you heaven if I could
All I want in return is one vision, one song
It’s all I need
To capture
The one moment you’re here
Just for me
Recreated in my mind
Mercury Rising.
Songs are just words. Have you learned nothing?
He rose from the chair, posed at the board for a moment
Composing a lecture in his head.
Before I heard his performance
The felon beam of light caught him
Beckoned him to join it.
Isn’t that what everyone wants, in the end?
He’d rather be here with us
He’d rather not be background noise
We shared a sad smile of knowing.
The room blazed with heaven’s light
And he was gone again.
So this is heaven
Maybe it really is for everyone
I blinked, taking in the dreary classroom
Clock ticking above the door
The fading light of evening
Nothing glorious or miraculous here.
I fell asleep in class.
I hurried to my room hoping for
A full night's sleep at the Dreamer’s Ball.