Before Your Time

HOW my heart overflows with pride, When I think of the venerable Bede, And the teachings and tomes that survived, And the writers this region still breeds. Born by the banks o’ the Tyne, You were raised by the Great North Sea, With the grunge, rap, garage n’ grime, Of the last, passed, century. And you learned from the scholars and saints, How to paint with the words of the gods, By the light of a stained-glass pane, In a chancel, chancing the odds. With a bell, your book and a prayer, Go forth, let your story unfold, With an eye on the main’ and your lyrical flair, Who knows what the future may hold. Be bold! P STEPHENSON, South Shields