the ticking of time's quartz heart
in the Cinderella bell tower
rendered the pumpkin colourless
in blue evenings disappearing
the coach stalled
then home on barefeet losing,
the day in tatters
and prayers by the sparkling
in the moonlight tree
what is this to me they ask
with silken voices
only that time is melting
in my mind I look for vanished things
sometimes the edge of the angelic
gilds the afternoons
and I ask softly, God, Dear Lord
will it be soon I cannot find
a sign of crystal anywhere
or turning aside on
the white the stricken road can it
become so suddenly again, sheer
maytime's flowering.
mary angela douglas 6 april 2018
in the Cinderella bell tower
rendered the pumpkin colourless
in blue evenings disappearing
the coach stalled
then home on barefeet losing,
the day in tatters
and prayers by the sparkling
in the moonlight tree
what is this to me they ask
with silken voices
only that time is melting
in my mind I look for vanished things
sometimes the edge of the angelic
gilds the afternoons
and I ask softly, God, Dear Lord
will it be soon I cannot find
a sign of crystal anywhere
or turning aside on
the white the stricken road can it
become so suddenly again, sheer
maytime's flowering.
mary angela douglas 6 april 2018