PICKINGS

Poetry from NHI publications

ACROSS THE STOUR VALLEY
Across the Stour Valley the green barley shivers and the Fison bags wave away the crows and pheasants and on the allotments old men attend their plots "Gemmill's got a good man" old man Gill shouts across to Gemmill's good man with a dog at his side chewing his overalls and above them on a Roman mound stands a cow chewing and out of the corn runs a rabbit terrified at everything that passes by and down by the road which follows the river one chimney expels a trail of smoke that weaves by day with swallows and at dusk with bats
RUPERT MALLIN

ACROSS THE STOUR VALLEY

Across the Stour Valley
the green barley shivers
and the Fison bags
wave away the crows
and pheasants
and on the allotments
old men attend
their plots

"Gemmill's got a good man"

old man Gill
shouts across
to Gemmill's good man
with a dog at his side
chewing his overalls
and above them
on a Roman mound
stands a cow
chewing
and out of the corn
runs a rabbit
terrified
at everything
that passes by
and down by the road
which follows the river
one chimney
expels a trail
of smoke
that weaves
by day
with swallows
and at dusk
with
bats

RUPERT MALLIN

from
New Hope Two

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This page last updated: 19th December 2007.