917 - Sage and Tyne

The sky darkens from Darlington to York
The headscarfed woman opposite sleeps on
Head buried in pink, pudgy hands, while talk
Drifts into my left ear. Returning from
Newcastle, recalling my walk along
Four bridges, Grainger and Grey Streets, crossing
Bigg Market to the Monument, the sun
Smiling weakly, the north-east wind breathing
Gently today at ground level, rising
To gusty bluster on Tyne Bridge. I walked
From the Gateshead side; the Millennium
Was my next crossing: slender, white, curving…
Into the Sage Centre, for this was work:
Three Civil Service seminars to come…
Mon 9 Mar 2009