I saw an angel's smile

Absolutely no long-distance walking today ;-)

... will keep the 'sixty' theme going though, with the opening sonnet from Simon Armitage's LX collection (as pictured), which was published last year, to mark his 60th Birthday:


LX

Are they the suburbs or is that the sea?
In a rusty two-seater we were flying
along the coast, the buildings below flowing
like waves, the roads now watery seams

and ranks of white horses,
the ocean all rows and lines,
all avenues, streets and lanes,
the light like sunburst on tiled houses

after rain. I thought how body and soul
might do-si-do, or mingle and curdle
in some no-man's-land slash grey area;

I saw an angel's smile
in the throat of a gargoyle,
heard tube trains under the great aria.

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Simon Armitage (1963 - )

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