it is suddenly springtime again

and i navigate this town like an old friend
the sunlight drapes over graveyard stones,
warms them, remembers them
and seeps softly through stained glass

i wade in mud and thorn, hungry,
to reach such a place-
perch in pews like a pilgrim,
pen poetry and holy scribbled song.

the day lends me 3 more hours until darkness,
i pledge to spend them alive

[...]

weathered norman walls hold me,
know me,
whispers of forgotten years tucked through my hair