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              "level": 3,
              "plaintext": "Notes from the Archive No. 2"
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              "plaintext": "In preparing for Sunday's service, I came across this poem I wrote several years ago, based on sitting at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester. For the unfamiliar, the gardens have a bit of a bad rep - sunken flowerbeds were replaced by a concrete design of Tadeo Ando, sandwiched between congested tram lines and a nondescript office block. Even before its current iteration, the space had a reputation for crime and cannabis (among other narcotics). Still, in the rare Mancunian sun, people would flock and like a lake springing into life, would feel refreshed and energetic."
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            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "plaintext": "It's at the start of a new life, so this might be considered an homage to a space long scorned."
            }
          },
          {
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            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.blockquote",
              "plaintext": "They come for the sun, worshippers and all\nDisplaying their brashness, timidity,\nLaughter and repose.\nDrinking confection which is actually alcohol. \nThe rightfully proud, the injured, the anguished,\nStretched out on grass patches cut through by concrete and stone.\nEvery individual holding tight to their square foot of earth\nLest their desertion become permanent\nWhile wave after wave of footsteps trudge past\ntoo busy for the warmth.\n\nChildren are baptised in the fountain\nand for a time I am jealous, yearning to sully \nmy adult vestments\nand know a different foolishness\nthan what occupies my life:\nOne that throws off expectation and convention\nfor the unprepared answer that is always joy-filled.\n\nToo long I have stayed\nand the world carries on,\nI assume as I leave that place."
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              "plaintext": "(C. Coyne, 201?)"
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  "description": "A poem I wrote years ago, resurfaced as the concrete is torn apart.",
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  "publishedAt": "2026-05-13T10:22:05.660Z",
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  "tags": [
    "Manchester",
    "Poetry",
    "Sunshine"
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  "title": "They Come for the Sun"
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