thankyou poetry on the underground

the first from my outward journey tonight, the second from my journey home, long live poetry on the underground:

Web - by Don Paterson (from lending light)

the deftest leave no trace: type, send, delete,
clear history. the world will never know.
though a man might wonder, as he crossed the street
what it was that broke across his brow
or vanished on his tongue and left it sweet


I saw a man pursuing the horizon - by Stephen Crane

I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
round and round they sped.
i was disturbed at this;
i accosted the man.

"it is futile," i said,
"you can never - "

"you lie" he cried,
and ran on.


now i'd seen this second one before tonight, perhaps on the same train, it was in the same carriage, in the same position amongst the adverts, and i'd spoken about it with the young woman sat beneath it that night. Stephen Crane's dates were written on the poem, (as all the poets are, Don Paterson was born in 1963), they are 1871 - 1900, making him 29 or 30 when he died over a hundred years ago. We remarked on this, me being 30 and she being 20.

i've seen one more poem on the underground in this current series, a philip larkin poem that is lovely, about the breathe that mown grass exhales - and high builded clouds moving at summers pace, fantastic,

x