Tuesday, 12 October 2010

Sonnet for a Lost Roman Road

SONNET FOR A LOST ROMAN ROAD
Treading by compass the unseen line,
Following the way the Romans led,
Thinking only of the road ahead,
Looking for a place to realign,
Bringing their direction back to mine,
Fording then each river bed,
Crossing over each watershed,
Marvelling at such a straight design.

The stones lie mostly below the turf;
A barn there and an oak tree here
Point to this route no longer used
Under the land of some Saxon serf
Who ploughed his fields without a tear
For all the history he had seduced.
© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Ashton under Lyne, 1st February 1980

Publications

1986 Acumen (UK)
1989 Vigil (UK)
1998 LIMBO TIME (Hyde, New Hope International)
1999 Black Creek Review (USA)
2000 Manifold (UK)

1 comment:

  1. I like this poem especially for its unique subject and historical insight.

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