Northern England – By Syd Peck

Steep hills and sudden
Gouged by ice, and water-formed –
This is no civilized landscape gentle

With demesne and orchard

And sun-kissed downland copses.

It is the terrain of warfare,

Of Northumbrian tearing at Scot,

Of Hadrian walling off the terrifying Pict,

Where the sea is held by Marsden’s cliffed face,

And Consett huddles ‘gainst Pennine snow. – By Syd Peck