This poem was inspired by watching “Carols from Kings”, conducted without a congregation, during lockdown. It made me think about how strange it felt to see these acts of worship taking place in empty buildings.
The candles that should flicker
With the rapt breath
Of a thousand strong congregation
Flicker now only in
The benign flow of air.
The shared moment of awed silence,
Tacitly agreed by many,
Before the first trembling notes –
Once in Royal David’s City –
Is held only by emptiness
The voices that should echo
In the shining eyes
And shining souls
Of a multitude of worshippers
Echo against stone walls.
And we sit on our sofa
To quietly watch the faraway choir
Sing in the Christmas Feast.
