Highgate Cemetery

A visit to Highgate Cemetery, London with Pandora a poet friend. Although it was a hot day she had shivers running up and down her spine.

Through a colonnade we see

how green the ivy and the ferns

grow in this shaded avenue,

where trees have seeded through the years

to shelter mourners left in tears.

Vines entwine and lichen clings

to monuments of chiseled stone.

Angels bow their heads in sadness,

others lift their wings in gladness.

Influence of far off Egypt,

Redgrave, Marx and Mahler's daughter.

Grecian urns or celtic crosses,

all the faiths have suffered losses.

Magnifique this ornate splendour,

only for the richest people,

yet the dead I sense some linger

and their shadows point a finger.

Carvings mingle with the flora,

little cherubs trumpet loudly,

gothic style on family tombs,

while gloom descends on catacombs

and someone has tiptoed over Pandora's grave,

- time to leave.

Reviews

[Ana Papaya]

"All faiths have suffered losses."

So true isn't it that in the beginning and in the end we are no more and no less than human.
All of us.

I enjoyed this. I wee bit of a chill at the end there but in general I find cemeteries to be peaceful resting places.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Ana. What you have said is so true. I wouldn't want to have been locked in that cemetery over night. The ornate splendour was overwhelming. I prefer simplicity.

Chris

[Arundass TP]

Created a wild gloomy scene.Descriptions are very powerful. Loved this poem.

[Chris Shaw]

Many thank yous for leaving such an encouraging review ATP. I appreciate you.

Peace and love.

Chris

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

Loved this poem dear Chris and I remembered this poem always. It was one of your very first poems I read and I was your fan instantly. Your pen is unmatched when you create such beauty of these serene, mystical places and such fine detailing leaves me awestruck always. A keen eye for the minutest of things, a sensitive heart and a poetic soul! You're treasured!

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Ditzy thank you for visiting this oldie again (me and the poem). Thought it was about time I gave it an airing as I was thinking of my poet friend Pandora who accompanied me that day. It really was an interesting place. The Victorians really did death well if they had money :) Tomorrow is shopping day. I need to stock up with treats. We have been seeing quite a bit of each other over the last week or so, and that has been so very nice. Don't want my fav cat to not have treats :)

Here kitty kat........

Chris

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

Its always such a pleasure to revisit this poem! Thank you so much for the treats, my friend....
read moreIts always such a pleasure to revisit this poem! Thank you so much for the treats, my friend....

While on the Victorians and the way they did death...some time back I read about their Post-Mortem Photography and that was really unsettling. They had elevated it to an art. I googled those pics by the tons and I could think of nothing else for days! It seems that for some families, death was the only photo-op as they were too poor to afford family pics routinely. Those dead faces looking into the camera still haunt me.

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36389581

Had to share this link when you mentioned about how well Victorians did death.

[Chris Shaw]

Yes, thank you. They did do death well. Quite distasteful by todays standards, but the norm then. Photos only for weddings, christenings and dying. Quite haunting and macabre. So many died young them. Could be a poem in there. Appreciate the link Ditzy.

[Dave]

Hard to believe the beauty that could be found in a cemetery. I get the impression that this one is not for the "common folk."

Take care - Dave

[Chris Shaw]

Absolutely right Dave. It's for the wealthy. You have to book to make a visit. However, it is really interesting. A Victorian cemetery, quite amazing the extravagance. The catacombs are eerie though. Hope you are well. Look after yourself and thanks for checking in.

Chris

[Broken.]

How interesting this cemetery must be! I feel like I have visited with you. There's something I found a little off about cemeteries. Although beautiful and ornate, something about the unfulfilled souls has always given me the heebie-jeebies. I love how you described/portrayed this perfectly. Thank you for sharing! Cheers

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Broken. It is really interesting. You also have to book to visit. You also need alot of money to be buried there. George Michael was buried there amongst the rich and famous of Victorian times. Pleased you read this older poem which needed an airing. Thanks.

Chris

[kentuck14]

I love to explore old cemeteries. This reminds me of a poem I've recently had published. "Visit to a Country Graveyard." Glad I came across this!
T

[Chris Shaw]

Pleased you enjoyed this one Tom. Many thanks for giving it an airing. Much appreciated.

read morePleased you enjoyed this one Tom. Many thanks for giving it an airing. Much appreciated.

Chris

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Love this well penned, balanced and rhymed poem with it's vivid and aspt descriptions. Loved the final stanza as it provides such a real feel as we all find graveyards both fascinating and unnerving at one and the same time.

[Chris Shaw]

Well worth a visit John, but you have to book in advance for a guided tour. It remains closed other than at tour times. Fabulous ambience to be soaked up. Those mausoleums stifling, the architecture so grand and the wealth spent on the dead beyond belief. Thank you.

Chris

[Kathy Van Kurin]

'Highgate Cemetary''
Christine Anne Shaw,
This was really catching. With the reality within this piece of time passing and nature finding a steadfast place it gives a feeling of life going on. Even so..it is a place of pondering mortality. Those walking it's, (what sounds so lovely) cannot help wonder and think. We all are moving forward and forward. The end is near but life is now. You did something good here. Iv'e not been to England and so this was just a taste of history from long ago.
Blessings
Kathy

[Chris Shaw]

Kathy, many thanks for reading this old poem of mine. Highgate Cemetery is a very special place. It left a lasting impression on me, hence the poem. I very much appreciate your visit.

Chris

[.]

I had to google Highgate Cemetery.....and i see it is the British version of Pere Lachaise in Paris; the final resting place for the rich and famous above all. No doubt that would have been a fascinating day's outing. Such elaborate tombstones and gothic stonemasonry. So much effort made to commemorate the dead.

This is a very descriptive piece, describing with clarity to the reader just what one could witness should they be there in person. Cemetery's are fascinating places. Never haunted in my opinion, always magnets for quiet and solitude.

I enjoyed the poem and you have introduced me to a place of which I had no prior knowledge. Something always appreciated.

A fine write.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Doodley. It was a fascinating place to visit. One which stirred up quite a few emotions. Well worth a visit.

Chris

[Suhd]

I can't express the feelings this poem has stirred in me. Melancholia has taken over me in the strangest way and it makes my pain go away.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Suhd for your thoughts. Poetry which replaces pain has to be a good thing. Now I need to work on your melancholy:) I appreciate your visit. All good wishes.

Chris

[Suhd]

Always a pleasure, Chris!

[emmajoy]

' Vines entwine and lichen clings ~ to monuments of chiseled stone. ~ Angels bow their heads in sadness,~ others lift their wings in gladness. ' That stanza encompasses the cemetary's moods.

One of my very favourite London visits, Chris. tho' not been there a few years now! Many thanks for reminding me of a few of the famous names sleeping there; the atmosphere, the sensations felt when the light alters or a bird whispers a song!

A beautiful poem, plus, interesting for those who've not walked around it... yet.

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks Em for your lovely review. A place of great fascination. Well worth booking for the visit for those who haven't had the experience.

Chris

[emmajoy]

You know. i'm tempted to get up to London.. see the V & A, visit the Highgate cemetary, walk a street market then, come back here to sighhhh.. Thank you so much for the nudge!!!