Having not read Chaucer

for VEM

And were the rolling hills of Kent
seaward through
boughs on roads well bent
to cross the slender shoulder
that separates
Calais and Dover.

Attuned the ear
to blades of grass
listening
afar from spires
stained glass
glistening

There between
my heart and fears
There among
my thoughts and tears
Straying cautiously
Still unseen
‘Cross Augustine’s stone portal I went.

Cathedral of Canterbury

Dr T.P. Wilkinson writes, teaches History and English, directs theatre and coaches cricket between the cradles of Heine and Saramago. He is also the author of Church Clothes, Land, Mission and the End of Apartheid in South Africa (Maisonneuve Press, 2003). Read other articles by T.P..

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