Church of England

Talk to me Dad

Tell me of your life, the form

Tell me of the war, that wondrous playtime for young boys

Tell me of the terror, of bombs, direct and stealthy

Tell me of your moving

From the time your brother fetched the midwife

To the Mediterranean

To the Middle East

To England

Tell me till you stop

Your silence a period of sadness and melancholy

Play with me Dad

Show me how to throw a ball

A googily to confuse those opponents

Walk with me up tall mountains

And small villages and orchards and fields

Show me those ghosts

Show me these graveyards

Feed me Nelson Cakes and tea to ground me to the yards

And bring me to the admiral’s resting place

Our heritage of sea

Teach me Dad

Of history, of geography

Show me how to find my way

Points on maps with meaning

That the easy fast way is not the interesting way

Give me features to navigate this life

So I can find my way here

Again to you

Again to my children

Again to my home

We stand at Regent Day Dad

And I always look left

Even when you weren’t there

There you were a beacon, a hope

Just down that road or on those rails

And we believed if we had to

You would take us

Heal us, this was our faith

You’ve a way of speaking

A gentle giant of a man

Humour your shield

English to the core

We’ve adopted this you know

A quiet repose where silence holds definition

I borrow your voice in this head

And I use its familiar comfort

To relax people around proper friendly demeanor

To suppress anger

And to change this world for better

It was only a week Dad

And you had us all

You were so happy with your family

Finding back roads

Showing us Havre hills

Where none should logically be in that wide prairie

And we climbed the mountains and played in the snow

And we built memory

And it was only a week again Dad

A surprise wasn’t it

Your teen boy come to hold eulogy

With his father for a favoured mother

And you gave me connection to family

And our children connect even today

So we cannot be separated

Though separate we would be

Hold me Dad

I am faltered and alone

Disconnected and broken

Can you counsel a boy

Guide with your wisdom

Take away this pitted pain

Give me strength to carry forward

Against those opponents who would hold me committed

You said it was right, this change

I believe it is

Look at us Dad

Look at who we are

Fine men and women who made their way

Look at how we’ve learned

See your children’s children Dad

Wonders and joy, learning from us

And now their great children

Our rewards from God that we be allowed to carry on

It all started in England

This church of your people

And its is all so brilliant, all so unexpected

And all such a miracle

Look at what you’ve started

It is all so very good
We can take it from here