Lancashire, Winter
Rain clouds the lungs
of the men who tread
these black horizons;
two hundred years
and more
of smog
sank deep, into these
black stone villages.
Villages
set like concrete
into these stark
sheep-ridden hills;
and in the pubs,
the worn down late-afternoon light
shadows the men
who drink in the half light.
John Marks
Wed 8th Feb 2023 17:56
Thank you Uilleam. I wrote this poem in 1993. I was inspired by Plath's majestic poem: 'Black Rook in Rainy Weather'.
I do not expect a miracle
Or an accident
To set the sight on fire
In my eye, nor seek
Any more in the desultory weather some design,
But let spotted leaves fall as they fall
Without ceremony, or portent.