Remembering watching David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia ...

This afternoon, we walked through Moreton Plantation, parking the red Peugeot not far from the small cemetery where T E Lawrence is buried - 

We crossed the ford - the shallow waters flowed over shining gravel - 

I gazed at delicate birch trees, then dodged questing Jack Russells - 

Two women went by in a horse drawn carriage - I admired the noble head of the horse - I imagined riding it, bareback, over midnight fields -

Soon we crossing over heathland, past dark serried pines - 

Penny and I saw a buzzard, flying close to the ground, a small torn animal clutched in its claws -

It was warm and still - we removed sweaters, knotting them around our waists -

Two girls rode by - they greeted us with their savage dazzling smiles - 

On our return, Penny and I went into the cemetery - we stood before the pale iconic gravestone - 

I remembered seeing Peter O'Toole in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia - I'd gone to the Ritz Cinema with my dad, worlds ago - 

The wide screen showed me a beautiful boundless desert - noble music rolled over the sand - 

The ethereal hero stared at me with his wounded blue eyes - 

16.00

30 September 2014

The Cemetery

Moreton