Lark Ascending

(Bath , St John the Evangelist Catholic Church 5th February 2025)

Row on row of grey heads

tilted one to the other,

amiable in this moment

asking , perhaps, is this the order

the precedence

Will those in front go first,

gathered in wicker arms

and gently laid, slightly creaking,

to ground

 

But as I watched,

they tumbled at random,

one here, one there,

free falling

and with the cold tiled floor

now somehow miles below

and their eyes wide with wonder

and then with smiles

 

until the last us were gone

and I heard a lark ascending.