Far Less Than Half A Mile Away

( a touch of Victoriana recently discovered)

this rusted crusted gate creaks loud
as iron railings shout keep out
for decades left in sad neglect
yet ivy strangles ivy trails
and crawling vines are everywhere
old gravestones play at hide and seek
while conifers and mourning pines
wear coats that creep up to their throats
stretch tall their necks spread wide their cones

obscure the names of the deceased
though dates do show of childhood woes
too soon their beating hearts gave way
and here we wander where the rain
has pelted down on thirsty flowers
the flora chokes in creams and blues
abundant fresh from April showers
the splendor once of marbled stone
now broken lonely overgrown

where once the grass was manicured
memorials were pristine clean
where angel eyes were heaven bound
the empire queen ruled from her throne
now Gaia has reclaimed the land
so here the birds chirp constantly
serenity reigns peacefully
a short call from the present day
far less than half a mile away

Reviews

[Patricia]

now this is my kind of read and write! Profound, real, and absolutely skillfully written.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you dear Patricia and congrats on having your second book published. I shall be ordering through Amazon.

Chris

[JD Major]

Sad, dead and abandoned, yet replenished and lush in Gaia's natural embrace.
Foreboding and distant, yet far less than half a mile away.
... speaks to me of death's dichotomy and proximity. Beautiful! :)

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you JD. Abandoned yes, but peaceful and so away from current living. It’s an escape place.

Chris

[Ken Simm.]

So full of atmosphere and gothic visuals. This reminds me of so much of my upbringing strangely.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Ken. A Victorian cemetery where Mother Nature has reclaimed. A source of fascination and such peace. I appreciate you.

Chris

[DIVYA]

The graves were kept immaculate and decorated always, till those who tended to them entered their own graves and thereafter those who tended to their graves. A century slipped past and graves once tended dearly, lay forgotten and weathered with time. More centuries will pass and those living now will be forgotten too and the marble will break again and again and the Ivys will run over all. In passing is all the splendor of life... ❤️

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Divya, you sum it up perfectly. There is no one left to mourn now. They have all gone. It is left to strangers, like me to walk with the spirits of the dead. Nature reclaims what is hers. Thank you my friend 💐

[Pete]

i like to visit old graveyards. places such as this so telling and sacred. you words do it justice. brilliantly laid chris. somber and at peace with creation. top notch for certain. eulogized for eternity.

[Chris Shaw]

That’s a fine review you have left Pete. Many thank yous for your thoughts.

Chris

[Lydia Shutter]

When we were in England, we visited the Jan Austen house. We walked about a half mile from there and found a tiny church with a graveyard. Sheep grazed between the stones that were nearly illegible. There is a special peace one feels wandering through a place such as this. So near to high rise buildings and shops...yet hundreds of years separate them. Loved the personification of the conifers! Great write. Lydi**

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Lydi** for a lovely review. Yes, the sense of peace was quite incredible.

Chris

[Soren]

A beautifully imaged picture that seems to form before the eye with this write Chris. I could see it clearly and felt comfortable there some how. It seems a proper resting place. Your poems are always so rich in their imagery.

[Chris Shaw]

So pleased the imagery comes through Soren. I do work hard on that. Many thanks.

Chris

[Dave Brown]

nicely done, but I do wonder about the graveyard being unkempt
possibly that is the way things should be meant to be, all just left to quietly fade away as have the many inhabitants who now wish for nothing other than to be left to lie at peace.
Altho' my parents are buried side by side in a perfectly minded cemetery, I have often wondered if that was the best way for things to have ended.

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks Dave . I don’t like manicured graveyards. Too many of the living visit. I like the peace and quiet and the sense of time passing, in graveyards that have been reclaimed by nature.

Chris

[ComeBack]

I loved your poem Chris Shaw. I thank you for your review as well.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much, you are a very welcome visitor. Please call again.

Chris

[ComeBack]

Of course!

[Thomas W Case]

Tremendous imagery. You take a snapshot here that is vivid and sharp.

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks Thomas. I appreciate you.

Chris