Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE ENGLISH GRAVEYARD IN MALACCA by KAREN SWENSON

First Line: DOWNHILL FROM THE ROOFLESS PORTUGUESE CATHEDRAL
Last Line: OF THE TREE THAT SPREADS ITS SHADE ACROSS THEIR CLAY.
Subject(s): CEMETERIES; MALAYSIA; MISSIONS & MISSIONARIES; GRAVEYARDS;

Downhill from the roofless Portuguese cathedral
these aliens, from the opposite point of the compass,
lie, a community in the grass, insular
under a great tree's shade by the sea.

Nancy Henry, David Kidd, Lieutenants White and
Harding, Rachel Milne, whose husband translated
the Bible into Chinese - confusing local certitudes -
abandoned by both God and Empire, please

only the wanton grass. A Nissan paintcan is
today's descendant of the vases which have held
a century of flowers for the spirit
of the tree that spreads its shade across their clay.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net