L'angélus De Millet Poem by Kevin Rice

Conveyed there by an artist's hand
In peasant garb, at harvest time,
A couple in the twilight stand
As church bells, in the distance, chime
And ring out to remind the pair
And others who are at their toil
That here and now is time for prayer
And time to leave the busy soil
And so the tools of work are laid
Aside, while labour turns to rest,
And there the Angelus is prayed
Her hands are joined, his cap is pressed
Against his breast, their heads are bowed
The sun sets silent as they say
The reverential words aloud
Which they repeat, this hour, each day
An angel's pledge do they avow?
Or does some grief inflame their prayer?
The basket holds its secret now
The unseen coffin hidden there.