Impression
At first light take this carved path, catch
a whistle of the past from lost strata, tread quietly
in man’s footprints, carved on hillside valleys,
where lifetimes’ cloaks of blood were worn.
Tors weep for man’s absence through slated rock;
noses of clitter, shale, of litter, the only proof of a
lifetimes’ spoil, of lift and drop of picks and shovels,
breaking harsh backs, old with bitter rage.
Like toppled statues drowned and chained,
masters of greed walk oblivious to others’ pain,
their feet buried in Devon’s silt of history,
too late now to save their souls.
Sheila Aldous
Sheila Aldous lives in Devon, by the River Teign. She has three poetry collections: Paper Boats (the burning of Teignmouth and Shaldon 1690); Patterns of All Made Things; and While I Was Sleeping. Sheila has been placed first in the Yeovil Literary Prize for Poetry, first in the Welsh National Poetry Competition, and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. She reads at many poetry gatherings, the most recent being the Rainham Poetry Festival.
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