Another poet from Yorkshire
What’s gone wrong with the bloody place
We’re meant to be dour and taciturn
Not emoting all over the place
They’ve gone an made this un t’laureate
He says he don’t care ’bout the money
Now listen lad tha’s from Yorkshire
Saying stuff like that ain’t bloody funny
Tha’s been living too long down in Oxford
Too long it would seem amongst spires
Get thissen back home to Yorkshire
Have a pint and get lost in the mires
Tha’d best come home and help us
We’re now wearing Fedoras not caps
The whippets have all disappeared
Everyone has bloody cats
Get thissen home, come and save us
Stop messing about with the Queen
What happened to that young whippersnapper
Who forever was our Gawain.
PJ. © 2021
With sincere apologies to the UK’s current Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage C.B.E. He is now Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds (Yorkshire). I suggest that you read some of his poetry.
“T’Poet” is a witty and affectionate critique of Yorkshire’s changing poetic landscape, written in authentic Yorkshire dialect. The poem playfully chides a Yorkshire-born Poet Laureate who has ventured to Oxford, lamenting the transformation of traditional Yorkshire culture where “whippets have all disappeared” and “everyone has bloody cats.” Through its humorous verses, the poem captures the tension between regional identity and literary acclaim, while cleverly paying tribute to Simon Armitage, the current Poet Laureate.
“Daftness and Other Afflictions” is Peter Watson’s heartfelt collection that began as personal therapy before evolving into something more profound. The book offers a uniquely Yorkshire perspective on life’s daily observations, combining wit, wisdom, and occasional cynicism to create verses that speak to readers on a deeply personal level. From serious reflections to whimsical observations, this anthology demonstrates how poetry can be both therapeutic for the writer and enlightening for the reader.
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