TEESSIDE SCAFFOLDER
Well-known member
http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/15121529.Poem_of_the_Day__Scaffold_by_Hamish_Whyte/LIKE the scaffolders of his poem, who make the artistry of their skills look easy, Hamish Whyte offers both wisdom and quiet sophistication in his informal verses. This piece comes from his latest collection, Things We Never Knew (Shoestring Press, £10). Publisher and poet Whyte was born near Glasgow but is now based in Edinburgh. He retains his west-coast connection as an honorary research fellow in Scottish literature at Glasgow University.
SCAFFOLD
Any scaffold’s a dangerous
construction.
These four men as they climb
two storeys to the roof
are so practised they hook
us like circus performers.
They’re so relaxed they can afford
to be daft: one hangs over
and swings his arms like a monkey;
one leans nonchalantly rolling
a cigarette.
A piece of planking floats upward
like an Indian club, casually
caught with one hand by the man
at the top, the only one without
a hard hat, the one who slots the poles
in the holes with unfailing
accuracy.
There’s a moment of rest; they pose
one above the other as if for
an illustration in a picture book.
They’ve reached that pinnacle
of art, making the difficult look
easy-peasy.
SCAFFOLD
Any scaffold’s a dangerous
construction.
These four men as they climb
two storeys to the roof
are so practised they hook
us like circus performers.
They’re so relaxed they can afford
to be daft: one hangs over
and swings his arms like a monkey;
one leans nonchalantly rolling
a cigarette.
A piece of planking floats upward
like an Indian club, casually
caught with one hand by the man
at the top, the only one without
a hard hat, the one who slots the poles
in the holes with unfailing
accuracy.
There’s a moment of rest; they pose
one above the other as if for
an illustration in a picture book.
They’ve reached that pinnacle
of art, making the difficult look
easy-peasy.