Mary Spain Poems

I'm sure they would be happier outside;
You're sure they would give greater joy indoors.
I'm certain they would take far greater pride
In brightening the earth; you plead the cause
...

An organism crumbles from the core
And we, who dance on the circumference,
Stick paper on the cracks in the pretence
That they will disappear if we ignore
...

'An angel never wriggles, sulks or talks, '
The small boys' harassed teacher told her class;
Then marked out on the floor with coloured chalks
Where each of them should stand. 'Nor does he pass
...

She sits there, fingering her wedding-ring
With restless hands, while counsel for the Crown,
Urbane and skilled, concludes his questioning.
She listens, keen and anxious, quick to frown
...

I had a form to fill the other day
Which, when completed, could be said to be
An outline of my life. How carefully
I edited the story to portray
...

Sometimes I wonder, Lord, just what you plan
For me. It isn't power, or great success,
Or tranquil and domestic happiness
That flows from motherhood; and though I can
...

I watch the workman place the paving stone
And, with a craftsman's dextrous care, smooth fine
The ridges of cement which blur the line
Between the butting slabs. These hands have grown
...

You wear your badges with such pride and I
Admire you unreservedly. I share
Your consternation and concern. I care
About the principles you're standing by,
...

How can true knowledge fade and disappear?
Where does it go? Only the other day
My fingers touched the stars; and yet today
Known formulations blur, to re-appear
...

There is no overture to art, no time
Of introduction whilst the painting grows
To fullness and the viewer slowly knows -
As with the steps of melody or rhyme -
...