The Mythicals - 0: Archie – a memorial

a modest bench stands on a path in Ridings Wood

ringed by hornbeams, bedded in ringcups and columbine,

where we stop to rest, listen to the guardian trees.

the words chiselled into the stainless steel plaque

have not been dulled; they are as bright as the child

in whose memory they were etched -

“Archie: 15^th October - 11^th November”.

the love of those who loved him clear, unveiled,

its pulse feeding every cut of the blade, twist of the grain,

running into the hearts of those who stand, contemplate

the wonder of a life that though short remains

a wonder to those that loved and love

and death, though it has fed deep, could not cloud -

He is still a son, a brother, a bloom signed so precious

He was early called to flower in His Father’s garden,

the aching space He left quickly shaped and filled with that

which marks us human; memories standing monument

against the tide of time and making life a thing of beauty.

we rise touched by the astounding dappled grace of this place

and walk on to complete the circle back to our own.