BURNSALL CHURCH – WHARFEDALE
Majestic
monument to honest prayer,
Thy
plain and rugged beauty doth excite
All
sentiments this eager heart can bear,
And
banishes bewilderment and fear,
And
fills one with warm comfort in the night.
What
messages of hope you must convey
When
being sighted first by Wharfedale men
Returning
at the ending of the day;
Or
smiling at the children in their play;
And
scowling at the poacher in the glen.
For
all emotions your stout walls inspire,
As
are contained within the viewer’s heart:
Be
it the fear of people who conspire,
Or
shame of those whose sin is their desire.
Fresh
hope to each of these your walls impart.
Yet
rests the clock at twenty past the noon
And
looking o’er the village all stands still.
You
hold your head with pride as some tribune
Or
sentinel, toward the sun and moon;
And
keep your silent vigil on the hill.