On Listening to the Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958)
 

Deep, deep water,
Like the tears that fell,
And gathered when you died.
Brooding country visions,
Regret or joy for England,
A world long gone,
Apart from rural scenes,
Given up by the soul of Constable.

The music wanders with your pen,
Accompanied by my ears and mind,
Floating, flying, hovering,
Like the lark you put to flight.
Your ink is green and flowing,
As a cool river,
Or grassy meadow, lying
Beneath summer clouds.

Impressionist visions,
raise up the dead.
When rising from the bed of death,
Tallis resurrected.
Westminster chimes, Westminster chimes,
A cry, a scent of lavender,
As one passes down the Thames,
And life, to the sea.

A voyage of exploration,
What discovery, grace,
And rising majesty,
Acoustic ecstasy.
Pass on, pass on,
The body goes,
But soul and spirit linger,
In your music and the mind.