Highgate Cemetery

through a colonnade we see 

how green the ivy and the ferns 

grow in this shaded avenue 

where trees have seeded over years 

to shelter mourners left in tears 

vines entwine where lichen clings 

to monuments of chiseled stone 

angels bow their heads in sadness 

others lift their wings in gladness 

influence of far off Egypt

Redgrave, Marx and Mahler’s daughter 

Grecian urns or Celtic crosses 

all the faiths have suffered losses 

magnifique this ornate splendour

only for the richest people 

yet the dead i sense some linger 

and their shadows point a finger 

carvings mingle in with flora 

little cherubs trumpet loudly 

Gothic style on family tombs 

while gloom descends on catacombs 

and someone has tiptoed over 

Pandora’s grave 

time to leave