Saturday, 2 July 2016

Lathkill Dale

A poem from 1986

Watch me perform it on YouTube...

frozen footpath
running water
the trees are pale
in Lathkill Dale

caves are silent
bedrock sleeping
will awake
for Jesus’ sake
hillside tries to touch the skies
the trees seem fairly unconcerned
maybe it’s true
what they taught us at school
that a glacier
sculptured this pathway

but can a glacier
know such beauty
can she see the song
she’s left behind
is this not a heathen’s story?
The blind are making children blind
jealous of their sight

frozen footpath
hunters shooting
bloody murder
in Lathkill Dale

groaning with our brother
as a death-filled sport
descends illegal
thrilling old men
and exciting the dogs
as another bird wings her final flight

the valley
of the shadow of death
where she has breathed an out of breath
goodbye
to Lathkill Dale




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