Whitcombe, the forgiving dead ...

Beyond the church was the site of the lost village - sheep grazed where once hearths had warmed unlettered souls - I traced the shadows cast by the holloway - I imagined wind chapped fingers clasping the mane of a gentle horse -

Inside the church, I stepped upon a carpet of early March sunlight - the nave and chancel brimmed with prayer - 

I gazed at the wall painting of St Christopher - I felt the weight of my own precious burden - 

Walking round the small churchyard, I read the names and dates of the forgiving dead - 

One stone marked the grave of a boy who was drowned - Thomas Atkinson Crow drowned June 24 1889 Aged 14 Jesu mercy - 

11.30

February 6 2015

Whitcombe

Dorset