IN A COUNTRY CHURCH

To one kneeling down no word came,
Only the wind' s song, saddening the lips
Of the grave saints, rigid in glass;
Or the dry whisper of unseen wings,
Bats not angels, in the high roof.

Was he balked by silence? He kneeled long
And saw love in a dark crown
Of thorns blazing, and a winter tree
Golden with fruit of a man's body.



"In a Country Church,"
from Song at the Year's Turning
You can also find this in
COLLECTED POEMS 1945-1990(J.M.Dent, 1993).
Translated by Yoshifum! Nagata

Image: St. Michael and All Angels' Church, Manafon


R.S. Thomas, priest and poet (1913-2000)
(p)&(c) Yoshifumi Nagata
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