HILL, Geoffrey

In Memory of Jane Frazer

When snow like sheep lay in the fold

And wind went begging at each door,

And the far hills were blue with cold,

And a cloud shroud lay on the moor,

She kept the siege. And every day

We watched her brooding over death

Like a strong bird above its prey.

The room filled with the kettle's breath.

Damp curtains glued against the pane

Sealed time away. Her body froze

As if to freeze us all, and chain

Creation to a stunned repose.

She died before the world could stir.

In March the ice unloosed the brook

And water ruffled the sun's hair.

Dead cones upon the alder shook.

A Prayer tot he Sun

Darkness

above all things

the Sun

makes

rise

Vultures

salute their meat

at noon

(Hell is

silent)

Blind Sun

our ravager

bless us

so that

we sleep