WARM DEEP SEA 1961

A BOY AND GIRL ON THE DOWNS WATCHING BIRDS AND BEGINNING A LOVE GETTING DEEPER.

Jane and I walked the Downs
the weather was warm
the sky clear
the Sun was above

Jane pointed upwards
that's a Skylark
she said

I looked to where
she pointed and saw
a bird swaying above us
then it moved across
the sky and away

it looks like a Sparrow
I said

it has different plumage
she said
taking hold of my hand
and squeezing it gently
it's streaky brown
with a small crest
and white sided tail
she added
as we looked around

you have good eyesight
I said

o I’ve seen them
close up and have
studied them for ages
she said

her hand was warm in mine
I rubbed my thumb
against her skin

I’ll look it up
in my book of birds
I said

Aluda arvenis
is its Latin name
she said

we paused by a tree
and looked at each other
there was the sound
of a tractor humming
across some nearby field
cows mooed
over a hedge

she drew me closer
and kissed me
lips to lips

my heart pounded within
we drew apart
holding hands still

my parents trust us
she said softly
I don't want
to betray that trust
she added

I don't expect you to
I said
unsure what she meant
then guessing about
the Lizbeth girl
who had tried
to get me do things
which I hadn't

we walked on
and up the Downs
hands still holding

how many birds
do you know?
I asked her

I learn each day
a new one
she said
I borrow Dad's big book
of birds and study it

I couldn't imagine Lizbeth
bothering to study anything
unless it had
to do with sex couldn't
imagine her worried
about her parents' trust
(if they had any in her)

we passed the big hollow tree
on our left
but didn't stop
we walked past
the spot where
we usually stopped

then up to the Downs
out of the trees
and along the top
where sheep wool
was caught on
the barbed wire fences

we stared out
over the countryside
below us
and saw the farms
and fields
and trees
and the tractor
in a field
and cows
and sheep

she turned
and kissed me
and I felt a glimpse of Heaven
inside me
swelling like a warm
deep sea.