Sharing, fellowship and that sort of thing

Communion is an act of sharing.  So I'm sharing the title poem of my collection of poetry, which was inspired by the chance sighting of a 15th century mural warning against the perils of Lust, on the wall of the nave in St Winifred's Church, Branscombe. 

Communion

She lifts her veil of lace,
her eyes are narrowed and her face

upturned for kisses,

and as she draws her lover in,
he binds her close

with promises. Yes,

they will prey,

but on each other

on this holy feasting day.

They don’t appear

to feel the Devil’s spear

thrust into their sides,

don’t realise

that they're a warning

painted on this ancient wall

to a score of generations

against temptations

of the flesh. Instead,

they’ll partake of each other
in red mouths of sandstone spires,
in sumptuous, honey-coloured quires,

in sanctuary, chapter house and chantry,
once used as store for vestments,
warm with candlelight and incense,

in drowned and sinking chapels
filling up with sand and lapped
by worn stone steps.

In sacred glades and nymets
beneath the fan-vaulting of trees,
she’ll smile and slither to her knees

on mossy hassocks, last year’s leaves,
like her dress of lovat silk
snagged on a hook.

Deborah Harvey © 2008 , 2011

Would also like to share how much I'm enjoying being here, tucked in between Thomas Hardy and Seamus Heaney:

If you like my poems, the collection is now available to buy.  Please contact Indigo Dreams for further details, or, if you would like a signed copy, email me at deborah.harvey@ymail.com.  Price is £7.99 inc p&p within the UK, £8.50 inc p&p to the rest of Europe, £9.50 inc p&p to the rest of the world.

'Deborah Harvey's ... poems are raw and true. She is the real thing'      Hugo Williams