BIRDS ROYD, BRIGHOUSE... (My new poem inspired by Peter Brook's painting about the West Yorkshire town...)

 Birds Royd, Brighouse…

(Inspired by a Peter Brook painting…)

In decline perhaps but the evidence of a wool industry

Still pervades Birds Royd, its gargantuan mill overshadowing

A snowbound terrace, whose life continues unabated. And wind-blown washing 

Hangs to add a touch of colour to such dour mustard walls and the local history.

In decline certainly but the swirling mystical chimney smoke

Billows in an attempt to suppress the once vibrant narrative,

A memory of a grafting, hardened workforce with a harsh missive,

Whose lives still flourished in the shadow of a bleak manufacturing cloak… 

Pete Ray…

27th January 2026… 

Birds Royd is an area within Brighouse, West Yorkshire and Peter Brook lived in the town, producing several paintings about it.

The mill is quite a building and to me, the enormity of it dwarfs the locality, just as industry dwarfed its workers, who still fought to preserve their individuality and pride…