Pilgrimage

Passing Cockenzie
then Mussleburgh
then Berwick
then waiting

for the sea to part
for the sky to clear
for the wind to drop

The Priory
was as before
although
the har was thick
and hid
St Cuthberts Isle

the stairs still led
nowhere, somewhere
we couldnt see

the arch still crept
towards the sky
or heaven
if theres such a where
and

watched the clouds
creep past and prayed
for sun or warmth or
something never known
or felt, or touched

Inside St Marys
mitre, cross and sword
for battle in some far
forgotten place

then there
beneath the chancel arch
inscribed for Reed
"Contra vim mortis,
non est medicamen in hortis"

this journey to this shrine
this sacred place
the course of life on earth
the course of faith

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