Meanwhile in the Wild Places

by Jonti Marks

Meanwhile,
In the wild places –
Beyond the houses and the supermarkets
And the industrial parks,
Where the fumes and plumes
Of diesel and steam
Infect the high clear sky;
Where the noise and incessant clatter
And chatter
Shatter the calm;
Beyond the foolish vanity
And trumperies of fad and fashion;
Far from the fear of the sound of boots
That march in the night –
A gust of wind stirs the purple heather
And the tall grasses bend beneath
Seed-heavy heads.
Under dark clouds and approaching rain
The peaks of distant mountains
Rise in ash and beech.