Istrian Oak

Let no-one hurt peaceloving folk
or turn their hearts to warring ways
while sunlight plays on Istrian oak

silvered and blued with spiral stroke,
bright in Venetian midday haze.
Let no-one hurt peaceloving folk

who meet to share a drink, a joke
with neighbours in the cobbled maze
while sunlight plays on Istrian oak

and bustling market stalls revoke
the cruel Decumanus days.
Let no-one hurt peaceloving folk

or fuel their prejudice to poke
the wolf asleep with sheep that graze
while sunlight plays on Istrian oak

fingering wisps of woodland smoke
where neither cross nor crescent blaze.
Let no-one hurt peaceloving folk
while sunlight plays on Istrian oak.