Isn't she lovely, 'the Mistress'? <br />With her wide-apart grey-green eyes, <br />The droop of her lips and, when she smiles, <br />Her glance of amused surprise? <br /> <br />How nonchalantly she wears her clothes, <br />How expensive they are as well! <br />And the sound of her voice is as soft and deep <br />As the Christ Church tenor bell. <br /> <br />But why do I call her 'the Mistress' <br />Who know not her way of life? <br />Because she has more of a cared-for air <br />Than many a legal wife. <br /> <br />How elegantly she swings along <br />In the vapoury incense veil; <br />The angel choir must pause in song <br />When she kneels at the altar rail. <br /> <br />The parson said that we shouldn't stare <br />Around when we come to church, <br />Or the Unknown God we are seeking <br />May forever elude our search. <br /> <br />But I hope that the preacher will not think <br />It unorthodox and odd <br />If I add that I glimpse in 'the Mistress' <br />A hint of the Unknown God.<br /><br />John Betjeman<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/lenten-thoughts-of-a-high-anglican/
