She never told what she saw in the wood;

There were no words for the stench,

The floated offal, the burnt patches.

She kept the secret of the woman lying

In darkness breathing hard,

A hooked foot holding her down.

She held her peace about the man who waited

Beside the lettered slab. He sang:

I went into the alehouse and called for a drink,

The girl behind the bar could not speak for tears,

The drops of beer flowed down the sides of the glass;

She wept to think of the pierced head,

The tears Our Saviour shed.