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THE ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN OF SHEEBA
The arrival of the Queen of Sheeba© GERALD ENGLAND
was a spectacle no more surprising
than the arrival of you
I, all day getting hotter and hotter
you, all day pining, wanting, hoping
It was the summerest of evenings
we walked in the grounds of Southwell Minster
As we entered through a side door
--
"The Arrival of the Queen of Sheeba"
--
assailed our ears,
the organ tuned to the key of the clock's chime
This was our moment of arrival
not that first intimate encounter
three nights previous
that never-completed goodbye kiss
We shan't find again
the refuse-tip entrance, the back-lane alehouse
With Handel's music in our heads
you talked of moving in
of handling our lives afresh
My Queen of Sheeba had arrived
Composed: Sheffield, 1st November 1973
Publication
1992 The People's Poetry (UK)
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