ORDNANCE SURVEY MAP 122: BRIGHTON & HOVE
Peacehaven to Lewes
And then I see the views out
to the sea in the south
& across the Weald
in the north
a high chalk ridge
under a glassine sky
a space of enunciation
trace landscapes
vacant lots
a pivotal place
the fields lie fallow
waiting for rain
waiting for the yoke
walking in / walking out
looking for the gap
in the hedge
the hole
in the tree
an aperture
in the season of absolute light
before harvest
prefaces the closing down
Listen for the undersong
sounds I cannot
name / locate
Disturbances within the threshold
of hearing are sampled in time.
The song that the rigging makes,
Port of Gloucester. The acoustics
of the sea. Here / there
the wind is constant
the roll call of the dead
is etched on my heart
Every day the list increases.
Meridian: The great circle of the celestial sphere that passes through its poles and the observer’s zenith. The imposition of a mental map upon physical topography.
The opening lines of Part I of Meridian (Peacehaven to Greenwich). You can read a further excerpt (from Part II of Meridian) here.