OLD SARUM; LINES ON THE CONFERENCE OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH AT SALISBURY by ALICE COLBURN BEAL

Old Sarum sleeps,
But one by one or
Two by two, the Deans
And Bishops bold
Creep back into
The sheltering Fold,

Finding within
The ancient time-worn shell
Of ritual,
Morning and evening prayer
And sacerdotal bliss,
An effulgence as of
Ecstasy thrown back
To them more precious
Than efforts new and crude,
Destined to decay
Nourished in too dry a soil.

Amidst the fustiness
Of pomp and power, and tea,
A few keen minds dart
Swift and sure, and listen eagerly
To catch the vast murmuring
Of the many
Minds and hearts,
And guide or follow --
Which or where
It matters not,
For mostly we take tea.

Old Sarum sleeps,
And mostly we take tea.

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