some who wear
cassock and collar
dislike that point in time
when
things get taken
off the leash
and the poetry of a life
is let loose

wonderful humour
naughty but nice
cheeky but never malicious
loved a game of bingo
liked to shop
she will be missed

is it a hatred of
sentimentality?

is it an assertion
in rhyming verse
that nan tends
rose gardens up above
or the irritation
that many a popular song
speaks to the human condition
better than countless hymns?

is it this
that evokes such
condescension?

yet in those
inadequate moments
when raw emotion
is worn on the sleeve
and language struggles to achieve
all that is wanted of it
lives often ignored
are given a moment
a twinkling under stars
and with it
recognition
that in bingo halls
and retail parks
any god
should be pleased to dwell

copyright a shyvicar July 2021