The Dew Stones

The objective of my walk was still there though... a pair of carved stones known as the Dew Stones, part of the Stanza Stones project that I have mentioned before (see here and here).  The poem is by the gifted local poet Simon Armitage, and the stones were carved by Pip Hall (remember my piece about her from the Saltaire Arts Trail earlier this year?)  They form part of the Stanza Stones Poetry Trail, across the high Pennine watershed, commissioned in 2012 as part of the Ilkley Literature Festival.

I really loved this poem:
... the touchy fuse-wire of parched grass...
one spark enough to trigger a march on the moors by ranks of flame.
Dew enters the field under cover of night, tending the weary and sapped,
lifting its thimble of drink to the lips of a leaf...
here where bog cotton flags its surrender...

To me there is something deeply satisfying about discovering a work of art and poetry set so naturally amidst the beauty of our lovely countryside, in itself poetic. Well worth the walk, to drink in the words and the artistry that carved them and the view and the fresh air. As refreshing as the dew itself.

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