Off-Comed-Un | Poetry
by Northern Life
From softly rounded downs
To bleak and rugged moors
From orchards to the heathered hills.
Rich pastures to sparse grazing,
Red brick to grey stone chimneys,
Back-to-backs and laundry lines,
Familiar tongue to dialect.
A new beginning in another world.
I tried to understand the brogue,
And struggled with the unfamiliar
Names of towns and districts,
Sometimes I sensed a wariness,
Which made me feel a foreigner-
As I suppose I was.
A southerner in Yorkshire.
But laughter breaks down barriers,
And cheerfulness brings warmth.
Work colleagues made me welcome,
As did my kindly neighbours.
Strangers smile and greet me,
And I know my heart will always be
In my adopted county.
