River Tyne Poem by Paul Reed

Drizzle spattered the dark Tyne
Running its evening course between waterside lights
Jetties and ferry landings
The last place of safety before the vast North Sea
No more a powerhouse of shipyard invention,
Riveters and platers;
Colliers long since rotted
Coals turned to ashes
The red glow extinguished by cold modern times;
Apartments now stand rigid by your banks
With slivers of light through blinds
And muffled TV sounds;
Fishermen still stand on wooden decking
Leaning on rails and talking
Straining their eyes against the twilight
Water lapping beneath their feet;
Tug boats still ply now and then
And cargoes meander without urgency
Life still goes on;
But the Tyne remembers more exciting days
And yearns for their return