Hillside by Robert Nisbet

A hillside, its serenity mapped
in miles, spread through the dark blue
of a spring evening. On its flanks,
here, then there, lights gleam,
bright, unwavering: cottage, hearth.

Then, hugely, over an iron bridge,
the rush of a train, its lights
shuddering slightly, but bright,
bright. In the surge of its steam,
the vehemence of brilliant things.


*First published in Poetry Wales, Winter 2010

 

Robert Nisbet is a Welsh poet whose work has appeared widely in Britain and the USA. He won the Prole Pamphlet Competition in 2017 with Robeson, Fitzgerald and Other Heroes. In the USA he has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize four times in the last three years.