GIVE WAY... (MY NEW POEM INSPIRED BY PETER BROOK'S PAINTING...)

 Give Way…

(Inspired by Peter Brook’s painting…)

It’s like the dog has become a deterrent, a reminder

To vehicle drivers for the need to stop and give way, 

Should they have managed to slow down at all 

And brake at the bottom of such a descent, a fast lane’s wander

From hilly northern moorland, into a tight village street, where astray,

The animal stands as a sentinel, reacting only perhaps to the artist’s call…

The sky hints streaky light at rain, or gusty showers of rain

Upon fields and farms and uneven dry stone walls,

But the dwellings, grim and marshalled militarily,

Their neat windows upon dark, sullen facades displaying the strain

Of industry, stand firm and an ignorance of age and weather’s squalls.

And the dog tarries forlorn. But might give way, momentarily…

Pete Ray…

10th January 2026…

When I first looked at this painting, I thought of the gap between the houses having been created by either fire or bomb damage to a dwelling which had then been demolished.

Of course, that wasn’t the case…