Saturday, 15 February 2025

RAG & BONE MAN... My poem about Alfred Wallis, the St Ives artist, Cornwall...

 Rag and Bone Man…

(The artist Alfred Wallis of St Ives…)



Driftwood gathered from weathered shores,

Vomited and churned

By stern, unforgiving, depositary tides,

Into clever, artistic crafts to sell are turned,

The natural shapes their new forms to decide…


Driftwood collected from battered beaches,

Hurled and spewed

By wild, unremitting, repository seas,

Bought cheaply and resold, a profit accrued,

An incongruous similarity of industry…


Pete Ray


Alfred Wallis was known as a rag and bone man, operating from his Maritime Stores on the seafront at St Ives, Cornwall. 


He bought and sold driftwood from the beaches there, rather similar to artists today, who use their finds to create pieces of artwork to sell…

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