Light in the Dark Age
By Philip Sidney
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Remember
sitting in rain, drenched
with the grey of place and time and existence
back in the 70s
when eyes rolled at ‘isms
you had to stay quiet
in the shadows and smile
if someone brushed
your body in casual inquiry
as though examining fruit
or flicking through vinyls
on a market stall
you smelt of Charlie
some grammar boy gave you
you should have been pleased
that he liked your look
smoking No.6 under your hood
becoming one with the wet
waiting for it to wash you away
past the NF graffiti on the concrete wall
out to the estuary
where
you hadn’t believed
that strange shaft of light
was a blessing from
another time
a sign
that it might be
worth staying.
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Comments
the seventies to a tee in all
the seventies to a tee in all their dreariness. Beautifully detailed
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Dark age indeed, Helen. The
Dark age indeed, Helen. The 60s were much more exciting.
Good write.
Luigi x
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Loved this. I used to smoke
Loved this. I used to smoke No 6. Did they have coupons? And an ology in the seventies meant you were a scientist. Really liked the way you put this together and re-created the seventies, for me at least.
Moya
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Your poems are little car
Your poems are little car journeys. They never fail to encapsulate the feeling of a time and place. They also give me space to think.
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what a snapshot!
what a snapshot!
the gropers officially tolerated, Charlie, what about rope soap? my aunt used to wear about fifteen in the bath for extra buoyancy
the sense of drizzle, wet earth and estuaries, feels like there should be a body in some shrubbery
the idealism of 60s (barrett's glissando guitar) gave way to hedonism, moon boots and David Bowie
the shaft of light is the transforming detail. it was worth staying. visitors from a moonage dream peeked though a crack in the sky
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Hi Helen
Hi Helen
Very lovely imagery in this poem. We can see and hear and feel your experiences.
Jean
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Beautifully captured. Loved
Beautifully captured. Loved the continuation as it streamed through the one long sentence. Just wondering if you needed the full stop at the end. Or the capital at the start. Took me back.
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beautiful
Especially the feel of the rain, the way her body was touched and smoking with hood up.....the light and estuary, sumptuous images...
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I wish I'd been alive in the
I wish I'd been alive in the seventies, but I lived in Clydebank. This reminded me of it, but was far too glamourous.
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This was lovely. I'm of an
This was lovely. I'm of an age where the only thing I recall of the 70's was disco and how alien it was to me. Felt like another planet. Always a pleasure to come across something that flows so well and conjurs up images of another time.
Rich
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It was worth staying - to
It was worth staying - to trigger nostalgia in those who were there, to tell the young about that grey, groping, NF era.
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This lean peom beautifully
This lean peom beautifully evokes the sweet sadness and hope of youth.
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Thought I'd pop by and read
Thought I'd pop by and read your work Helen,
what a surprise to find this piece. You captured so much about my youth. Loved the lines:- When eyes rolled at 'isms you had to stay quiet in the shadows and smile if someone brushed your body in casual inquiry as though examining fruit or flicking through vinyls on a market stall. I used to love going to record fayres in Bristol, we had so many, so I thought this was a great metaphor.
Beautifully mastered and thank you for sharing.
Jenny.
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