Shades and shadows manifold
Grace our tropic land;
Silhouettes of seagull wings,
And palm shades on the sand;
Of countless coral windy cayes,
And dipping sail-boats grand.
House forms lie across the lanes
To ease the noon-day heat,
And bougainvillias lend their shade
While church spires lithely meet
The shadows of the shuffling soul
And the repentant feet.
And in the leafy forest home
Where bamboos bend beside
The silent streams, and timbers throw
Their massive forms and ride
Above the pine trees - and there too
So many shades abide.
Yes, Mid-day sun blaze, full-moon glow,
Send myriad shades to earth;
And we in humble confidence,
Through days of grief and mirth
Feel God's protective hand o'ershadow
Our blessed land of birth.
Leo Bradley (1926 - 2001) Belize
Source: Belizean Poets Belize National Library Service, date unknown but possibly 1977
Grace our tropic land;
Silhouettes of seagull wings,
And palm shades on the sand;
Of countless coral windy cayes,
And dipping sail-boats grand.
House forms lie across the lanes
To ease the noon-day heat,
And bougainvillias lend their shade
While church spires lithely meet
The shadows of the shuffling soul
And the repentant feet.
And in the leafy forest home
Where bamboos bend beside
The silent streams, and timbers throw
Their massive forms and ride
Above the pine trees - and there too
So many shades abide.
Yes, Mid-day sun blaze, full-moon glow,
Send myriad shades to earth;
And we in humble confidence,
Through days of grief and mirth
Feel God's protective hand o'ershadow
Our blessed land of birth.
Leo Bradley (1926 - 2001) Belize
Source: Belizean Poets Belize National Library Service, date unknown but possibly 1977
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