Poem: Tearing Down the Old Church

Books & Poetry

Wednesday August 12, 2015 Comments

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Loss in different aspects is looked at in today’s Poet’s Corner by JR McRae of Brisbane.

Tearing Down the Old Church

The birds in the rafters
Stretch, flap and reconnoitre
The relics of garden for food.

The vestry is mouse quiet –
Scuttling to and fro with the fragments
He has fossicked,
The little grey one
Is much the verger’s ghost.

This morning there is other noise.
Voices from doorways and windows
Mouth their metal
Then another kind of scavenger
Bites through the brick
And exposes the sky.

Birds shiver mid flight
And turn –
Roost on a distant ledge
Watching their sanctuary go.
The mouse holes up and waits.
The darkness will come
Mouse quiet.

On the Street

Henry stands on the corner
His rug pulled round him tight
It kept him warm on his pavement space
All last night.

Now he’s wrapped it round him
Pulled it over his head
And stands there on the corner
Just a few feet from his bed.

Henry is hiding from you
He isn’t quite sure why
He just wants you to keep going
Be another leaving, just a passer by,
The no one ever coming
Not where Henry hides.

JR McRae’s poetry, cover art and articles have featured in anthologies and journals in Australia, the UK and US. She also writes children’s books as JR Poulter, with more than 20 print and digital books published. Following her first job in a circus, she has held positions of senior reference librarian with John Oxley Library, as a full-time book reviewer for the Queensland Education Department, senior education officer Queensland Studies Authority and Associate Lecturer at Queensland University. McRae will publish a new poetry book, Blood & Other Essentials, later this year.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.

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<h1>Poem: Tearing Down the Old Church</h1>

<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/compiled-by-john-miles/" class="author">Compiled by John Miles</a></address>
											
							Loss in different aspects is looked at in today’s Poet’s Corner by JR McRae of Brisbane.
<h4 style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="#tearing-down-the-old-church" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="tearing-down-the-old-church"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Tearing Down the Old Church</h4>
The birds in the rafters 
Stretch, flap and reconnoitre 
The relics of garden for food.
The vestry is mouse quiet – 
Scuttling to and fro with the fragments 
He has fossicked, 
The little grey one 
Is much the verger’s ghost.
This morning there is other noise. 
Voices from doorways and windows 
Mouth their metal 
Then another kind of scavenger 
Bites through the brick 
And exposes the sky.
Birds shiver mid flight 
And turn – 
Roost on a distant ledge 
Watching their sanctuary go. 
The mouse holes up and waits. 
The darkness will come 
Mouse quiet.
<h4 style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="#on-the-street" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="on-the-street"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>On the Street</h4>
Henry stands on the corner 
His rug pulled round him tight 
It kept him warm on his pavement space 
All last night.
Now he’s wrapped it round him 
Pulled it over his head 
And stands there on the corner 
Just a few feet from his bed.
Henry is hiding from you 
He isn’t quite sure why 
He just wants you to keep going 
Be another leaving, just a passer by, 
The no one ever coming 
Not where Henry hides.
JR McRae’s poetry, cover art and articles have featured in anthologies and journals in Australia, the UK and US. She also writes children’s books as JR Poulter, with more than 20 print and digital books published. Following her first job in a circus, she has held positions of senior reference librarian with John Oxley Library, as a full-time book reviewer for the Queensland Education Department, senior education officer Queensland Studies Authority and Associate Lecturer at Queensland University. McRae will publish a new poetry book, Blood & Other Essentials, later this year.
Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.
 
							This article is republished from <a href="https://inreview.com.au" target=_blank rel="canonical">InReview</a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2015/08/12/poem-tearing-down-the-old-church/" target=_blank rel="canonical">original article</a>.
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