It’s National Poetry Day…!

For the Guardian of Minack (October 1987)

This afternoon I found

          that you had died

     And I was glad

          that I was all alone

For inevitable rivers

          of tears flow

     And waters leap

          where you have gone

And this is all I know

          save

That deaths and entrances are all we crave

And where will you go

          now that all your goings are done?

     A subtle lightening

          in the new child’s eyes

     Much more than such

          a suitable joy

     For this you gave

That deaths and entrances are all we crave

And through this joining

          although it may force crying

     I was so glad

          that I was all alone

And as the fragile life force

          leaps

     It’s old to new religions

          now

          that vow

That deaths and entrances are all we crave