The Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne, by Anne Symons

The Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne, by Arthur Edmund Grimshaw (England) 1895

The Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne 
 
Did she call out to them? There 
behind the curtain – she has opened
the casement window and is standing 
wrapped in shadow above the lighted street. 
They look up towards her, caught in conversation, 
feet chilling on the damp cobbles. 
 
The quayside shines behind them: 
buildings, rail tracks, river, bridge
opalescent and dark pearl 
like the colours of a psalm: 
wings of dove covered with silver
its pinions of green gold. 
 
Do you remember the dove cot 
we came across in the Vale,
the shimmer of slate and feathery grasses?
We couldn’t find the doves. 
You put your hand on my back to draw me close
afraid that I might fly away.

Anne Symons

After a career teaching deaf children and adults Anne Symons began writing poetry in retirement. Her work has been published in Orbis, Obsessed with Pipework, The Ekphrastic Review, Agenda, Poetry Salzburg Review and The Atlanta Review. She is currently studying for an MA in Writing Poetry with Newcastle University and the Poetry School, London.