SYPHON
Long-ago, through
night and day
linked to now,
film-frame by frame:
a car door slams,
an engine runs,
sometimes there are voices,
sometimes none,
the long rumbling
of a train,
the almost-no-noise
of a drawer opening.
Silence like water-drops
suspended through walls
or ceilings, a click,
a throat cleared.
Summer is staying awake,
nightly responding;
Summer is opening
the lens of your eyes.
Second by second,
where rail-yards meet
the estates and part-buys,
the city’s pulse fades fast:
light is beginning
all over again
in a kiss, an embrace
that never stops.
7 comments:
There's something exciting about this, a sense of anticipation...
I ilke the photo too, where is that?
Many thanks for your comment. The photo is of a sculpture at the New St Pancras Station. I think it has a timless iconic quality. The sculpture was the main inspiration for the poem, which aims to capture the way night unfolds in the moods and sounds of a neighbourhood somewhere in the vicinity of London's new version of St. Pancras Station.
I can't help feeling that the poem is much better than the sculpture. The poem beautifully evokes summer in the big city. The second stanza has it perfectly.
I agree with Lucy. reading the poem, I was drawn into it, but couldn't put my finger on why until I read her comment.
It stands rereading and deepens as a result. Excellent.
i've seen the sculpture and i prefer the poem ... so hooray and thanx !
Thanks for the comments. I appreciate them.
Second thoughts: it reminds me of a film script.
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