‘Ascension Day’ sculpture by Jonathan Clarke (2002) on loan to St Mary Islington, London, reflecting Luke 24.50-53 and Acts 1.6-11. Photo: Graham Kings, 17 June 2026.

There it stands,

    with solidity and energy,

    mass and movement,

    before the pulpit of

    St Mary’s Islington.

Like a high jumper leaping,

    Christ is ascending,

    from earth through the universe,

    to his heavenly home.

Craters created in aluminium

    are redolent of

    stars and planets.

The gash through the cosmos

    leans as it rises:

    wider below, narrower above.

The risen Christ,

    with marks of the nails

    and hole from the spear,

    swerves slightly,

    setting up tension.

    Half of his body

    seems home already.

Conception and Ascension:

    the sending and return

    of the missionary Son.

(c) Graham Kings

28 July 2026, Launde Abbey

For my other poems in the series on the sculptures of Jonathan Clarke, click here.