Tiled Floor

Tiled floor As I view the old and the new, The tired and the worn, Alongside the pristine and sharply defined The original master plan dulled With newer, brighter inserts, I see an untidy cohesion A compromise An inability to fully reinstate Though craftsmen have done their best Restoring years of alteration and renewal It is an unholy alliance Trying to both eye and mind For it is less than perfect. But it must do It is all that is possible. At a distance, no obvious problem But on close inspection the joins, the mismatches Are to be lived with, endured, Imperfect but workable, Usable, necessary. And I must find a way of .. acceptance. Lent Retreat February 2010 This was inspired by the tiled flooring section in front of the memorial to Princess Elizabeth, in The Minster church of Sts. Thomas, Newport, Isle of Wight, UK. Princess Elizabeth was the daughter of Charles 1, and died at Carisbrooke Castle where her father had been imprisoned prior to his execution in London.