In The Christian Community we read a series of ten gospel passages in the time between St John’s and Michaelmas. While drawn from different Gospels and not chronological, these readings outline a progression—a path. I set myself the task of writing ten poems that would trace the path of the disciples as a central motif, seeking its resonance in each passage.

To frame this journey, I set myself a formal challenge: the crown or corona form. John Donne masterfully employed this form in his Holy Sonnets, a collection I've been living with for over forty years. While my poetic capacities don't stretch to writing blank verse sonnets—and even if they did, it probably wouldn't be my chosen medium for a contemporary audience—the core idea of linking lines resonated with me. 

In this form, the very first line of the entire cycle functions as the last line of the cycle, and each subsequent poem begins with the final line of the one before it. This structure beautifully embodies the spiritual path: it combines the forward momentum of a path with a destination with the cyclical nature of repeated circling. We pass through the same stages, but each time with deeper wisdom and experience.

The corona form demands intense focus on each individual poem, while always considering its place within the larger series. This process of composition itself mirrored the path I was trying to describe: I needed to revisit and rewrite earlier parts again and again, illuminating them in the light of later discoveries. It also contained some genuine surprises, as images developed seemingly with a logic of their own. 

All the poems have been brought to near-completion, but I am looking forward to refining them as the weeks go by. A lot happens after a poem has been published! This is the seventh in the series.

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