The Battles of John Churchill

By Vanbrugh's bridge at Blenheim,

Leaning willows make,

Elegant dappled plays

Narrated by the lake. 1704

Hear her story eloquent,

England's finest scene,

Idyllic in the archway

Move the shades of green.

Resplendent where the water lies,

August ripples pleat,

Many a sequinned sparkle,

Immersing where they meet. 1706

Low she laps her greeny banks,

Lichened Pallas hears,

Inaudible waters

Emptying out the years.

Out across the colonnades,

Under porticoes,

Diving deep into baroque,

Each frieze and cornice flows. 1708

Noble hall, whose echos chase,

All the modern heels,

Reaching rooms where gilding glows,

Drawn on fiery rills.

Marbled lives whose flesh cut deep

And carved England's past,

Look to see the water shift

Present into the past. 1709

Linger here beside the bridge

And let your senses run,

Quiet where the willows play,

Under Blenheim's son.

  English stone holds Marlborough high,

  Though still unmoved, the clouds pass by.