Poem of the Month

Old Sodbury by Sophie Livingston

We took tea 

quietly,  

With Hannah Stinchcomb 

who died 

aged 64  

And William John 

who died 

aged eight.  

The red tablecloth blew lightly in the wind. 

We had walked all summer 

passing Painswick,  

climbing to the monuments 

treading hollow and high places  

Tired now.  

‘Can I persuade you?’ the woman 

by the tea urn said. 

We unclipped rucksacks 

Took our seats 

Gazed across the  

Valley to the  

Gleaming Severn 

And the sky was 

And the sun does 

And the land is. 

So we rested 

between thought 

for a while.