Lemn Sissay's 'Flags', Tib Street, Manchester

Lemn Sissay's poem 'Flags' is written into the sidewalk of Tib Street, Manchester, from Market Street toward Swan Street, and stretches a little less than a mile, on the righthand side of the street only. Sometimes, where stones have disappeared, you have to guess the missing letters, which is usually easy, but very occasionally comprehension is impossible. Sometimes you have to kick aside cigarette ends to read more clearly, or wait for a momentarily parked car to move. This is living poetry, uncertain poetry, where people oblige by walking into the road as you take your photo, but no one stares at you, you merge with the life of the street.

Occasionally, I may have gotten something wrong, and I'm sure someone will tell me so, knowing I won't mind. I could, of course, pretend that the error was deliberate. And then, perhaps the person who laid the stones got something wrong, or the poet is occasionally mischievous. Just to keep us on our toes.

 Lemn Sissay

THESE PAVEMENT CRACKS

ARE THE PLACES WHERE
POETS PACK THEIR
WARRIOR WORDS

THESE PAVEMENT
CRACKS ARE THE
PLACES WHERE
SLEEPING SHADOWS
OF MOVING
BRIDGES STOLE

WHERE DYING
DUST OF DREAMS
SLIDES WHERE
THE SLITS SILT
TURNS TO FOOD

WHERE HOME
TRUTHS TRICKLE
HOME AND CONFIDE
WHERE THE SILENT
FORESTS BROOD

WHERE SPINES BENT

?? THE BRIDGES

ARCHES WHERE THEY

VAULTED WITH A

SICE(?) TO ? SPEAK

AND UNITY SOWN

ON TO THE SKIN

OF ALL TRADES

PERHAPS THEYRE

A SCRIPT WORDS

OF THE STREET

PERHAPS THESE PAVEMENT

CRACKS ARE THE PLACES

AWHERE FLATTENED FLAGS

LIES SOLIDIFIED WAVES

THE TELLING LINES

WITHIN A SEA OF FACES

WHERE SUFFERERS

TAKE COVER

OF STREET CAVES

WHERE WANDER THE

WAYWARD AND LOST

WHERE THE RUNAWAY

CAN CHART HIS

JOURNEY BACK HOME

WHERE THE WATER RUNS

AS THE WORLD DEFROSTS

THE STREET BREATHES

BENEATH THIS STONE

AND PERHAPS THE

PAVEMENT CRACKS ARE

THE PATTERN OF

CONCRETE BUTTERFLIES

WHERE THOUGHTS

CAREFULLY

CULTIVATED

WAITING TO

WAKEN GROW

WINGS AND FLY

LIKE US THEY HOLD

THE PEOPLE OF A

MODERN EARTH

THIS WORLD

BETWEEN THE

WINDSWEPT FLAGS

WHERE PAVEMENT

CRACKS ARE THE

PLACES WHERE

SLEEPING SHADOWS

OF MOVING

BRIDGES STOLE

THE COLD

ADDENDUM: Lemn Sissay has now won the vote for Chancellor of the University of Manchester. Phew! I'm very pleased to say he easily beat the horrendous Peter Mandelson: we don't want dinosaurs, especially hypocrites like the architect of New Labour!

 

Links to my other posts of Lemn Sissay public poems are given below:

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Lemn Sissay's Poetry in Manchester
The Art of Michael Visocchi and Lemn Sissay in London

Hardys Well and Lemn Sissay's Poem
Lemn Sissay's 'RAIN'