Category Archives: Nature

Pictures from Holland

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One ragged scarecrow alone in a field
Waves to the train which is gathering speed.

Two long-billed storks perched on a rooftop
Stand on one leg and bask in the sun.

Three whitewashed windmills turn in the wind,
Pumping the water or grinding the corn.

Four painted barges in nose-to-tail line
Follow their leader along the canal.

Five white ponies in a buttercup field
Scamper away at the sight of the train.

Six mottled cows at the red stable door
Wait to be milked at the end of the day.

Seven bells chiming high in the steeple,
Telling the time to the people below.

Eight wooden clogs on eight pretty feet
Dance on the cobbles beside the canal.

Nine fishing boats tied up at the quay
And fishermen drying their nets in the sun.

Ten children of Holland cycling to school
Wait by the bridge for the train to go by.

Envoi

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When finally the boatman comes
To ferry me across the Styx,
Don’t stay to wave me out of sight
But turn again to living things.
Turn back towards the healing sun
And in some patch of cherished earth
Scatter a wilderness of phlox,
Of lilac, foxgloves, hollyhocks,
That from my shore, with straining eyes,
I see their spires of blossoms rise
And catch upon a straying wind
The fragrance of their scent and yours.
 
November 1989

Of all Faith’s gifts

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Of all Faith’s gifts, the one I sorely miss
Is that quiet lifting of the mind and heart
In unselfconscious praise, the soul of prayer,
Those inner songs of joy, all gathered up
And, with a child-like faith, deposited
With love and longing in the lap of God.

Where else and to which ear can I proclaim
The beauty of the mountains under snow,
The faithfulness and glory of the stars?
To whom commit for healing and support
The ailing body or the anguished mind,
To whom entrust the passing of our days?

The Psalmist’s songs are mine yet in my mouth
The words ring hollow and the blessings vain.
When intellect denies the heart’s desire
And reason takes its pure but ruthless path,
The anthems die away and in their place,
Like ivy on a wall, the silence grows.

May 1989