If I could

If I could

I would glide soundlessly,

The thought of it,

Like a hawk

Eyes peeled

To reveal

The curve of the earth.

I would see from coast to coast

The hills and dales below

The variegation of leaves

Made visible

Grass rippling in the wind

Waves upon the ocean.

The rabbit jump

The roebuck leap

Storied hills,

Valleys segmented

Into green fields and hedgerows

The rivers and streams spidering

Over England

To the sea.

How my heart would wander

The context of my invention

The curiosity within

The marching of the tides.

Closer to the moon

Than to the sun,

No nearer to an understanding

Of the broken mills

Abandoned mines

A latticework of disconnections.

Burial grounds

Ancient barrows

Filled with bones

The old guard.

Bloody battles

The litter of forgotten wars

Stone walls, stone houses

Stonemasons

Building on top of building,

Holding on to the old foundations

Comfort blankets,

Where once there was an empire.

Shaping the landscape

Following the glaciers

Keeping the illusion

Of the countryside alive

For another day