by Rachel Hammersley
Huge skies cast darkness over this brave headland,
The sandstone crags ravaged by wind and waves.
Atop the cliff sit ruins, wrecks and graves;
Below, the constant flux of sea and sand.
The priory built robustly to withstand
The elements, time’s claw, the sharp wind’s breath.
Remains survive, cold testaments to death;
The work, the craft, the trace of long dead hand.
Yet they live still, keeping the thoughts alive
Of institutions, people, ideas, love.
Lost thoughts preserved; enabled to survive.
Remains that even nature cannot move.
Here time stands still, or ages coexist.
Here traces of lost lives and loves persist.
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Rachel Hammersley is an historian and a proud resident of North Shields.
Image credit: “King Edward’s Bay and Pen Bal Crag – geograph.org.uk – 8072438” by Anthony Foster is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
