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--chosen-work--
Per Ardua
A rising tarmac path
puddled, by the old graves.
Naked trees those with leaves
left barely orange by the old church
windows barred against the yobs
inside the modern block
no swish or squeal or thrust of city cars.
Dear Friends remember God's promises
Pray for our Dear Friend Departed
File in sit stand sit stand file out
our hushed respect outweighs the numbing cold
the numbing service
He now departs in fire who
longtime lived his life in it
fire of the steelworks thumping presses
fire in the night-sky searchlight-ridden
many died but but his demise forbidden
at last the fire was in the heart
and in the soul
Where the strip mill was-
ragwort open sky and a thousand ghosts
The only fire now the anger and despair
at what we have become
Dear Friends we come to claim God's promises
We shall all be changed
Now here in the wet grass the blackened trees
the high rise and the shutters
Shaz luvs Dave: Park only on the Paths.
This rising city will soon forget
him and his and those who died by him
Those who moved the earth and sang and feared
among the flames are now departed
and those who died below
Broken walls and endless levelled buildings know