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.

Longmoor, June 1949

Totally derivative, of course, as Stella was quick to point out.  Strains of Keats and Gray.  But in justification, it was written very quickly at the request of one of my army mates (see picture) to accompany a picture on the wall behind his office that reminded him of home, as it was his parish church.  Anyway, he liked the verse!

Don't remember his name, but he is the one in the middle.  Click on picture to enlarge.