Changed by the unchangeable

I listened quietly
To Mr Payne and Mason
Cos that's what you did
Back then

In wooden pews and
Velvet cushions
The smell of dry rot
In the air

Ladies wore hats
But men removed caps
Etiquette over my head
I listened quietly
Cos that's what you did
Back then

I had questions, a whole pile
But no one to ask of them
Hark there was no herald
Awakening my sleeping heart

But if someone asked me
My allegiance, after some splutter
And guffaw
I aligned myself with the math teacher
I never knew what Mason did.
And now, well today I am back again
In musty pews with black mould smell
Not quiet anymore but still listening
For that still small voice of God

A journey it has been, one far from over.
Eternity is eternity after all
And yet I find myself most at home
With ladies who used to wear hats
And men who removed their caps

United like me and Payne
And all those others I knew
United in the love of God
A friend to all
and an enemy to none