river tees

the early tees silver with morning promise, low cloud hung on cliff, trees allowing themselves to winds contour, rope swings with memories ov ... i wake singing: havent slept this well in years, sleep of the just they say. military jet ricochets after its already on top ov us & moving beyond. a burst ov goldfinch descend, strip the thistle heads. hare among harebells, flattens ears, believing i wont see it now. river tees. to tease, tease out, draw out, spin out. this seam ov wool rich beyond our wildest & anthrax-spored - woolworkers disease. factories built on wealth & misery - sweatshopped east now - tho sweat is the same salt-purpose whichever language its spoken in. how this sinewy length, this dance ov river pauses only in the likes ov reservoir or barrage. at high force - a couple on the edge, latest gprs in hand, photo-message themselves on edge, send to ... durham, york? a manchester artist once told us yu dont put a sculpture ov a church on a church. there is a hare ripped on rock below high force falls, looking like someone threw it there, meat adhering to rock, eyes long gone. i see no harebells now

54 degrees, 25 minutes north (scotch corner services)

behind us the pennines are a smudge ov charcoal. been 2 miles since northern energy filling station closed cos they just cant compete. radio scotch corner hosts tijuana hour, segues flamenco to tex-mex, killing off any call-centre blues. theyre offering unleaded, super, diesel, hot chocolate, moto. faded flowers & jaded coins overflow the bog. outside, this old couple toast each other in excuse me / after yu / no. after yu & a ‘helping’ hand to the others elbow. in the lorry park i pick blood-crust from ma knuckle-wound, trim the dead skin, let the cool air in. to heal. to bite