Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

Poetry Library Southbank Centre - The Poetry Library housing the Arts Council Collection at Southbank Centre

« Previous item
Contents of this issue
Next item »

Penelope Shuttle

print this page

Echo Village

for Zoe

What you loved best
was going, every Sunday afternoon,
rain or shine,
to the tiny town

where you, though only five,
were giant Athene
striding down from Olympus

through the humdrum streets
of ankle-high houses
with inch-wide curtains at their windows

and doors only a snail
could easily enter –
with what jubilation you raced

round and round
the pocket handkerchief village green,
leapt the little stream

trickling through the waterwheel
no bigger than the face of a grandfather clock –

That little world you loved,
where you played, happier to be bigger than,
has fallen from favour –

sold on, sold again, then sent for scrap,
no sign remains of where you ran,
baby houses, school, church, fire station
all tumbled away

The world is big and not a toy,
this you know –

Yet the little town in its green hollow
goes on remembering itself
whenever I pass the site –
echo-village, child’s delight –

scrap of net at the window,
horned snail at the door

 

Featured Poet : Penelope Shuttle

Page(s) 5

Back to top