Poetry in Motion

I've heard of people who recite poetry whilst walking and who get enormous pleasure from committing a poem to memory. Then there are those who are inspired by their country walks to write their own verse. Wordsworth's inspiration for 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud' came from a walk he took around Ullswater with his sister, Dorothy.

In November 2010, Country Living magazine invited readers to celebrate the British countryside by writing a poem in its honour. Here is one of the runners up poems.

A Walk in the Peaks by Sue Burge

Clouds scuttle across the sky

like sheep a dreamer has forgotten

to stop counting.

Our walk is punctuated by stiles.

Slates like gravestones stacked against

a drystone wall.

We climb from Grindsbrook Booth to Hollins Cross

where the coffinbearers would pause

before the descent to Hope.

Whorls of wool litter the path as

sheep unravel in the fields.

Stones like bones uncovered by shifting mud.

Down a narrow lane a sudden breeze delivers

a swirl of blossom

transforming us into snowglobe figurines.

Ascending skylarks shatter the sky and

my head is full

of all the poetry I've ever forgotten.

I hope the lovely Spring weather we're currently experiencing inspires you to go out and appreciate your local beauty spots.