A Compression of Distances The roof bosses of Winchester Cathedral on our 20th wedding anniversary We could, I said, hold one in our hands: trace how the stone leaves are entwined like held hands. And then, you said, see how the boss holds the roofs ribs of stone, how the lines gather speed.
Like the early universe, I said, moving faster and faster towards light years.
The geometry of space and the curving of galaxies.
Then think about our space, you said, and the curve of our bodies together. Suddenly our anthem, Mozart’s Ave verum, rose through the stone spaces compressing time and distance. Intersections of stone and time held us.
Think of the word games we’ve shared, all the stories you’ve told me, the rich ways of our life... Look how each knot of stone is an ease and complexity of leaves.
Daphne Gloag Daphne Gloag read classics and philosophy at Oxford but worked mostly in medical editing and journalism.
Her poems have been published in magazines and anthologies and she is a member of Second Light Network of Older Women Poets. Her poem ‘A Compression of Distances’ is reprinted with permission from Images of Women, edited by Myra Schneider and Dilys Wood (Arrowhead Press, Darlington in association with Second Light), 2006.
Reprinted with permission from Images of Women, edited by Myra Schneider and Dilys Wood (Arrowhead Press, Darlington in association with Second Light), 2006.