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Saints in Sussex

Chapter 11: THE CONCEPTION B.V.M.
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About This Book

A sequence of lyrical poems voices saints and liturgical moments as they intersect with Sussex landscapes and local life. Each piece reimagines feast days through vivid rural imagery, seasonal change, and churchyard ritual, pairing apostolic figures and biblical personas with village sights, sounds, and folk memory. Themes include faith and repentance, communal prayer, mythic echoes, and the everyday rhythms of market, sea, and harvest. The collection arranges short dramatic monologues and descriptive lyrics into a calendarlike progression, using pastoral detail and devotional language to fuse sacred tradition with regional identity.

THE CONCEPTION
B.V.M.

Anna’s Voice:
Down by the rushes I paused and bent—
I bent with a sudden lovely pang of joy,
And I knew that my hope was true....
Lord God of our fathers, if Thou send me a son
He shall be bred in Thy fear,
But if Thou send me a daughter
She shall be bred in Thy love.
Lord, I pray Thee, send me a girl.