Yorkshire Day

 

-peaky Braggers

Yorkshire Lads

Wi just us sens wi belt and braces
no pretence no airs no graces
us Yorkshire lads real rough hard cases
a willin for to fight the fight,
to fight for what we see as right,
just us sens no airs no graces Yorkshire lads wi belt and braces.

Nanite God Bless

Nanite God bless she’d say to me
with a kiss upon my brow
I never knew I’d miss so much
those simple words as I do now
her loving arms would cradle me
and rock me off to sleep
so to dream a dream of safety there within her bossom deep
now here tonite I must confess
I miss my mam’s nanite God bless.

-Martin Bragger

-Garry Cochrane

Attercliffe

Three piece suites, old mattresses, bedsteads,
dead dogs, kittens, tyres. You name it
they chucked it down the cutting. Old hands
would load up a heavy iron boat
two inches down by the head, and then run
at half throttle to stop all the clutter
fouling the prop. One of Furley’s men
stripped a gearbox running over a cooker.
When we passed under bridges, folk spat
at us, or sometimes worse. It were a rude
stretch. We kept bilge-water in a bucket
on deck, so, when they spat down one side,
we’d chuck our mucky stuff over t’ other.
A fair exchange, I say, water for water.

-Matthew Clegg (from his amazing collection “The Navigators)

The language of childhood

Childhood was bilingual /Our mam says “Ay up”
Playground and classroom/I’ve forgot me dinner money
Strict demarcation/I’ve left it at ‘om
Classroom was knowledge/I’ll tell thee summat
Playground was wisdom/Tha dun’t pick mother-die
Class room was orderly/Give us some spice, then
Playground was marauding/Yon bairn’s roaring
Childhood was bilingual/We were only laiking

-Sarah Connor

-Laura Graham

Never Dull In Hull

Newland avenue, where the first birds chirp
A fine place to begin our days
Princes avenue, where the last diners burp
No better place to end our days

A fine place to begin our days
Fresh croissants! That gets the nod of the head
No better place to end our days
Than with the smells of Jackson’s tasty bread

Fresh croissants! That gets the nod of the head
What better way to kill the pain?
Than with the smells of Jackson’s tasty bread
Memories deep within the brain

What better way to kill the pain?
That is a question for Jameson Street
Memories deep within the brain
The wonderful walk: daily beat

That is a question for Jameson Street
The answer may be Ferensway
The wonderful walk: daily beat
The answer may be Freetown way

The answer may be Ferensway
Is the question Springbank?
The answer may be Freetown way
The Drains! Ugh! Oh so rank!

Is the question Springbank?
Would he be proud? That Wilberforce?
The drains! Ugh! Oh so rank!
Terrible stench! What is the source?

Would he be proud? That Wilberforce?
Paper publishes a fascist
Terrible stench! What is the source?
Do we have an apologist?

Paper publishes a fascist
In the great city: Never dull
Do we have an apologist
In this, our Kingston-Upon-Hull?

In the great city: never dull
Newland avenue, where the first birds chirp
In this, Our Kingston-Upon-Hull
Princes Avenue, where the last diners burp

-Pramod Subbaraman (First published in Places of Poetry)

Links and Bios

-Laura Graham

is a stand up poet from Leeds and 2021 national slam poetry finalist. Her Yorkshire Day poem was shortlisted for Leeds Poetry Festival Competition and featured on BBC Radio York. 

-Pramod Subbaraman

is a Dentist and Poet who lives in Hull with his wife and son. He returned to poetry after a long absence during the first lockdown in 2020 and has since been published in the UK and the USA. He runs poetry workshops for NHS trusts in North Lincolnshire and Goole, and Hull and East Yorkshire. He tweets @briteeth

-Matthew Clegg was born in Leeds in 1969. His published works include Lost Between Stations (https://longbarrowpress.com/current-publications/matthew-clegg/ ), West North East (https://westnortheast.wordpress.com/), The Navigators (https://matthewcleggthenavigators.wordpress.com/) and Cazique (https://matthewcleggcazique.wordpress.com/). He currently lectures in creative writing at Derby University, and he lives in Sheffield.  

-Martin Bragger

has long been a Sheffield poet. He is also a well known local singer/songwriter and musician. He has performed at various Yorkshire venues over many years also as his alias Billy Martin Junior.

Two of his songs penned with his real name Martin Bragger were included on the 2008 album ‘Made In Sheffield’ and performed by Tony Christie.

Danger Is A Woman In Love

Paradise Square

Here is a link

https://www.discogs.com/Tony-Christie-Made-In-Sheffield/release/10448841

-Kerry Darbishire

lives in Cumbria. She has two poetry collections published by Indigo Dreams: A Lift of Wings and Distance Sweet on my Tongue. Her poems appear in anthologies and magazines.  She has been placed in competitions, and recently gained 2^nd prize in Folklore and was commended in Grey Hen and Ware Poets competitions 2021.  Some of her work will be performed by The Cumbria Opera Group’s Lakeland Cycle in September 2021. Kerry has a pamphlet to be published by Dempsey and Windle in October 2021, and her third collection (joint winner of the Full Fat Collection) will be published by Hedgehog Press in Spring 2022.