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[ After a painting by John Constable ] The evening sun casts Unhindered rays across the plain. Here the light has a long reach, Shadows of roof and spire stretch Across the grass and at a distance, Set between oak and beech, The view of river and meadow. Celt, Roman, Saxon, Norman. Here the threads from the tangle of history Were woven again. The new beside the old: Step by slow step, stone by patient stone. God’s house built again with A covenant for this land: Unity of altar and throne yielded Stays of the state, anchors in the mind. Secure hold bred certainty of cause: Not cower in the hiding hills But stand on the open plain. Shires of the English south Cradled and nourished notions of right: Simply assume and choose to rule. Shadows of forebears and The glory which England sought. Here the line of history has a long reach: With certain ground beneath one’s feet At a house of God made of English stone. |
