Choir Boy Poem by Ali Graham

Clad in armour;
cassock, surplus,
ruffle. Choral-
Eucharist
tongue to heart,
organ grinder,
shovel, fuel,
furnace, mouth

Pounding out
from pipes
to chancel,
up to prod
persistent skin,
on painted panel
ceiling in,
a bid to flee
inquisition

Having shared
in blood and body,
unfrock the day
then leave,
to be driven
home with evening
visitation head of seed;
Magnificat
Nunc Dimittis,
parish of St George