The most beautiful bench, poetry and Samuel Palmer
I was so pleased to be given the chance recently by the talented sculptor James Tunnard to submit some work for a bench he had been commissioned to make for Lullingstone Country Park.
James was inspired by the park, the landscape and also the artist, Samuel Palmer, who had written some of his best work when living at nearby Shoreham. And he asked a number of local poets and school children to see if they were inspired to write something too.
This was like a dream opportunity for me – perhaps you know that I’ve had a blog about benches for a long long time (even if it’s a bit dusty at the moment). Unfortunately every time I planned to visit Lullingstone Park to get a feeling for the landscape, it was raining so in the end I decided to go anyway. And … you’ve guessed it, ended up writing about the weather!
Here’s the poem I wrote for James and the Ripple bench (you can see two of the lines above):
Reading the weather
Sarah Salway
Pick a book from the valley’s
library of clouds, let the sun
start a story and the wind
to flip the page. Listen
as raindrops slip like silk
into this ancient lullaby.
Soon dusk’s misty plot-twist
threads into a new bright day.
Do go and visit the bench – you can find out more about it here, and if you do, I’d love to see a picture of you sitting on my poem! Here I am, looking very happy.
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