Come and sit with me upon this bench.
That way the Great Road, stone-stumble-sharp beckons…Wait here.
Look at this landscape, half heart-held, half unknown.
Join me on this cliff of a moor,
across from the crease of a combe,
beyond a patchwork of fields seamed by hedgerows,
leading to the sea in the sky or the sky in the sea;
stillness which never stoops moving.
Enjoy the faraway nearby.
Can you see me?
I am here in the frisson of grasses, nodding heather, dancing bracken.
I am in the sky that flies the crow like a kite,
that plays with the clouds like puppets.
Can you feel me?
I am beside you now.
I may caress your cheeks or cudgel your clothes.
I present you with scents from the never bloomless furze
mixed with perfumes of the ancient earth
sprinkled with sheep shit.
Can you hear me?
On sunny days I am that constant susurration whispering in the grasses.
On rainy days I rant and rage at the bracken.
At twilight I might bring you the bawl of a stag
or the call of a pony
or the laugh of a crow.
Sit here with me for the present.
How do you find me today?
Poetry inspired by the Quantock Hills of Somerset, GPS-located into the Quantocks
Quantock Poetry Trail 