Friday 17 July 2009

Time passing, beloved

A rather marvellous week of silver wedding jollifications with family and friends. Lucy, like me, get a bit embarrassed about ballyhoo, but we did have fun marking a quietly amazing 25 years together. I meant to post earlier in the week this rather marvellous poem by Donald Davie. It first intrigued me as an English teaching assistant 35 years ago, and I always wondered whether I would ever be able to own such words from the inside.

God has been very good to us both, way beyond our deserving.
Time passing, beloved

Time passing,
and the memories of love
Coming back to me,
carissima, no more mockingly
Than ever before;
time passing, unslackening,
Unhastening, steadily; and no more
Bitterly, beloved, the memories of love
Coming into the shore.

How will it end? Time passing and our passages of love
As ever, beloved, blind
As ever before; time binding, unbinding
About us; and yet to remember
Never less chastening, nor the flame of love
Less like an amber.

What will become of us? Time
Passing, beloved, and we in a sealed
Assurance unassailed
By memory. How can it end,
This siege of a shore that no misgivings have steeled,
No doubts defend?

5 comments:

David Cooke said...

Many congratulations on 25 years! I have happened upon your blog again via Cranmer and have much enjoyed a good click around. David

Alastair Cutting said...

Celebrating ours in a fortnight, too... Going to be in NZ for ours.

Every blessing.

ARISTIONO NUGROHO said...

Hi friend, peace...
Your post very interesting.
If you willing visit my blog, and read my post at http;//sosiologidakwah.blogspot.com
I hope we can be friend, although maybe have different perspective about something.
And... if you love books, read The Holy Qur'an please...

June Butler said...

Congratulations and blessings to you and and your beloved, Bishop Alan. In these times, 25 years together is worth a celebration.

I'm nicking the Donald Davie poem to post on the anniversary of our celebration of 49 years together, which comes later this year.

Bishop Alan Wilson said...

Many thanks to all for kind wishes; even a spam for the Qur'an, which I have read but a while ago and, of course in translation. Many congrats, GM: hope the poem posts well for you, and roll on 50!

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