This poem was written in appreciation of Rev. William Macmillan who was laid to rest on
23 01 2020 at Dunmurry NonSubscribing Church Northern Ireland.
The Flax Field
On its girth a corpse of trees
The stead was high
Stood like guards at its edge
Inward they appeared protective
Outward they hold back the wind
In its gust it swayed
Towering watchful over us
Took in the air our lungs expelled
And drank it in – a unity begun
A life alpha and omega spun
The dialogue was spiritual
of the ever giving earth
Ecumenism one of God
I heard the whispers grow loud
Speaking oneness in the world
Each life a gift precious
And sharing grace and worship
For the years it has to unfold
That wonder to behold
Not profit on another’s loss
Our ways are rooted
Where we are born
Everyday given a vision
With a boundary our horizon
From the Valley or the mountain
A day encountered another promised
Each shall see alone
Where shadows fall the light dims
The whirl of spinning earth
Arrives in that same place
John Graham
23 January 2020
