Till daylight comes

And so to Deptford to St Paul’s
           where death lies buried
in the empty grounds
           where fresh-blown roses
are washed in the dew
           petals gone as a gust of breath
Here in the broken darkness
           the birds fly silently
from oak to ash to sycamore
           and strands of light
filter through the dying leaves
           Here we remember her hair
her lips and the shape of her smile
           the taste of her kiss
the gentleness of her voice

What lies beneath the ground
           is love and beauty
held on a threshold
           by the water’s edge
ready to be launched
           into a new infinity
built of stardust
           Smoke and shadows rise up
from neighbouring houses
           where bone to bone
young lovers lie
           locked in sweet converse
frail dust
           frail autumn dust
caught in the swirl of light
            Here the dreaming flesh cries out
the deathless voice of all the world :
           out of my love
her heart will not stir

These stones to praise thee :
           tall and lovely tender she is
a fabrication built of autumn roses
           of words that hover
light as leaves in the silence
           silks and cashmere
against my aching skin
           the warmth of burning coals
the ebb and flow of the river
           that carries our days
down to the sea

Search not my lips love
           unbind my hands
rise up to my caress
           let us stretch our bones
till daylight comes