CORNISH CHURCH

So-called restorers felled the great west door,
blocked up its soaring weather-bitten arch,
and slicked tiles over the footworn floor —
an echoing parade ground for the march
of racks of yellowing lenten leaflets (free)
and out-of-focus postcards (50 p),
on what for centuries has been a borderland
where infants bawl their sin original,
unwed lovers and unblessed coffins stand
awaiting immigration ritual:
“Pass friend
from sin to short-lived innocence,
to matrimony’s lifetime bond,
to heaven’s five star residence.”

Return to Index

Return to Home