Gothic arches, richly painted ceiling and walls,
With memorials of long-dead admirals,
And Lawyers who collected the king,s taxes.
Did people once prostrate themselves,
Before a God they no longer believe?
Is there; or ever was there, conviction in their minds?
Jesus has been displaced for an outing.
For an evenings entertainment, when parents,
Come to see their children sing or perform.
So children become the centre of attention .
A chance for the school to show off what,
It has achieved in the previous term.
Where parents congratulate themselves.
That their offspring were part of the festivities.
And the children are glad that it is all over.
So, the worship of the God who is there,
Becomes a mutual admiration, or self-congratulatory exercise.
For people who are remote, alienated from one another.
We shuffle out, discreetly shouldering,
One another aside toward the gothic doorway;
Into the cold night among the graves.