Timeless Oxford

I stood by the bridge Gazing down at the greens Of the trees on the banks At the union of streams. Through mossed balustrade Reflected I'd spy The spires of Magdalen In watery sky. Leaves on the water Red, yellow and gold By unseen currents, The near bank hold. Bright against grey In light autumn shower A shimmering halo Above the stone tower. Wide wavelets circling The still picture flows A fast spreading mask Where the hidden fish rose. By the far bank The ripple passes Halting the gaze Of hanging grasses. Thinned willow and elm Where pigeons coo, As in the past They forever will do. Now Michaelmas comes, New faces appear, But Oxford unchanged Will greet the new year.