i didn't mean
for it to happen
it just
did
the narrow streets
ancient buildings
as old as
God
creating a
passageway to travel
through past
and present
co-existing
organ music
thundering in sanctuaries
carved miraculously
expertly
centuries before
columbus stumbled
into a land
already inhabited
history permeates
the air i breathe
dust mites of Romans
atoms of the saints
my bare feet
travel over
the Queen's sand
and flint
walk
in the footsteps
of Sir Arthur
the fiction of sherlock
feel the chill
of the Ripper's
savage
ghost
the smell
of old wood
and stone
modern and ancient
transfiguring
time
hot tea
in the afternoon
clotted cream and jam
on scones
walking in
the country
strangers
in a small village
tip their caps
and say hello
don't single
me out
as american
double decker
buses
advertising
american films
perhaps a
guilty reminder
of where
i am bound
but here
is where
it all began
the country
that formed me
the faith
that nourished
me
my soul
feels a
strange
sense of home
ancient beginnings
source
birthplace
origin
and when
the plane
leaves
the achingly familiar
i weep
