30 JULY 1988, Page 26

Bright from Oblivion

Dawn, as the shadows slink away, Squints at the opening of day And there where night and silence were The sun comes up and small winds stir.

A man lay still and that was all And darkness was perpetual, But now the broken day must break And clay uncrumble and awake Resuming with a half-drawn breath The resurrection and the death.

What men remember of the night They drag into the final light.

Matthew Mead