Mary Spain Poems

Do you recall that tiger at the zoo?
We tried so hard to make him look our way.
You whstled; but I said, 'It doesn't do
To whistle at a tiger. You should pay
...

I can accept, because I'm told it's true
And observation prompts me to agree,
That what I'm standing on so trustingly -
This solid earth, this globe on which I grew
...

Housed in the framework of poetic law
There dwells a thought. So small a home, yet by
Its very discipline we can ensure
That nothing wasteful is allowed to lie
...

What if there never was a virgin birth,
No cattle bearing witness to the sight;
What if no angels sang of peace on earth,
No star shone tribute in the winter's night?
...

I have a need to kneel, though it is hard
To formulate just why this should be so.
Why fall upon my knees? It's not as though
The dignity of upright stance is barred
...

Slow, Summer days that slip away into
The drowsy twilight's welcoming embrace.
Soft, sun-bleached skies whose parasol of blue
Reflects the tranquil bloom on Summer's face.
...

I marvel at the potent mystery
That way above me, shining in the skies
And clearly visible to modern eyes,
Are stars that died far back in history.
...

A seed lies in my hand, shrivelled and lined,
Such humble home for cosmic mystery.
Yet, deep within this scrap of dust we find
The essence of a world. Of limits free
...

Small, solemn faces sparkle with the fire
Of Christmas coming. Slight, schoolboy figures -
Far removed in spirit from the rigours
Of the sports' field - now constitute a choir.
...

Perhaps I'm slightly envious of you;
Perhaps I wish that I could be contained
Within that very private world that few
Can understand, or reach, once they have gained
...