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While someone exhorts us In song to sing to God, I've looked askance and asked, is he Among us here or not? And found that question, off its no-man's land Uptaken then in hand, Lies with sheep in shade, And takes its rest in space, Beneath a large-leafed chestnut, bright With burning candles, placed At intervals upon it, by that same hand, Which forms from sea dry land. Can it be we have A second chance of rest? I labour to hear a voice whose sworn Obscurity you blessed, Like a bright cloud above unharvested grain, A clear heat after rain.
Edward Clarke’s latest book is called The Vagabond Spirit of Poetry.
Featured Image: Daniele Idini.