Easter Procession

A cross on his shoulders;

a file of people,

walk behind

with black umbrellas:

les parapluies;

the rain falls in

fine drops:

spider lines,

while above our heads

the mist cloaks trees

in white cocoons;

to walk in silence

past columns

of rata and rimu

which burst into leaf in a

praise of green;

up ahead the church, and

footfall on footfall,

we tremble behind

a wooden

cross.

Sarah Penwarden is the co-editor of Stimulus and a lecturer in the counselling team in the School of Social Practice at Laidlaw College. She is also a counsellor in private practice.  Her recent PhD explored the use of poetry with people grieving a lost loved partner.