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THE RED LADY OF PAVILAND

 

When I stayed in Rhossili ten years ago

I walked from St Mary's Church

down limestone cliffs to the Goat's Hole

where the Reverend William Buckland unearthed

the red ochre dyed skeleton of a Roman Lady

(who he thought must have been a prostitute)

left in limestone cave of the Goat's Hole

and who now can't possibly be with God.



A few years ago he appeared in my dreams

carrying a mammoth skull,

the bones of long extinct animals

and the red ochre dyed skeleton of a Roman Lady.

He said they were all from the Great Flood.

What could I do? Say the lady was in fact

male, a shaman who lived in the Stone Age

and he's up there with whatever God he praised.



Today, after Jade Goody's tacky funeral

I walk down to the shops

and it reminds me of walking down cliffs

to the beach. At the supermarket I follow footprints

to the clouds and unexpectedly I find a dream

of the Reverend William Buckland carrying

the red ochre dyed skeleton of a Roman lady

who, he believes, can't possibly be with God.

◄ AFTER AN EVENING AT THE POET'S CAFÉ

RICHARD'S COMPLAINT ►

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