Brinkburn Priory

A doorway through a Norman arch.
Whispers echo at the silence,
Eyes adjusting to the dark
In cellar smells of ancient stonework
Void of worshippers and pews.
Sunlight  through the stained-glass windows
Glazes terracotta tiles.
A bird is flying in the rafters.
Wildflowers drying on the altar
Are ragwort, knapweed, willowherb.

The Risen Christ by Fenwick Lawson,
Born in 1932,
Dominates the northern transept:
Displaying hands in benediction,
A giant airborne monk in beechwood
Hangs aloof on chains and metal.
Strange to find the resurrection
Signified by weight of wood:
Apotheosis of a tree-trunk
Posing as a rib of God.

Two girls are playing in the garden
With a length of fraying rope,
Moles have undermined the lawn,
Rosebay willowherb in sunlight
Seeds along the riverbank;
The water, noisy as a torrent,
Carves its channel out of sight.
Beech trees dominate the valley
Witnessing a prehistoric
Resurrection into leaf.