Show me the shrine in the woods that shroud the stream
Trickling past cedars that stand guard over marshes
Draining gently into the moat surrounding a mansion
Built around the chapel where Richards and Henrys
Worshipped with majestic duty before an altar
That lifts every seeking soul to the Lord of the mansion
Who made all that's here, generously bequeathing it, ^[1]
Thus allowing a nation to wander free
As oak bud bursts into leaf before the ash ^[2]
While a new climate robs the earth of moisture
And I plead for a tomorrow our children can enjoy
As we do now, beneath a Mayday sky.

Since we're entrusted to maintain what's made;
That trust must be fulfilled with thoughtful care.


2 May 2007

Written after visiting Ightham Moat, with Anthony an enthusiastic guide, and after we heard of the West Humble property adjoining National Trust land becoming available again. The Climate Change Conference was being held in Bangkok at the same time.
 
Click here to see photographs of Ightham Mote in the duPs photo album
 

[1]  Charles Henry Robinson bequeathed Ightham Moat to the National Trust in 1985; God bequeathed the world to us at creation.

[2] Oak before Ash, in for a splash. Ash before Oak, in for a soak.