“Now is the time of your life” Simma

One of the stalwarts of the Northern music scene is the singer songwriter and poet

Anthony Simpson better known to everyone as Simma. He and I have worked together on a number of projects. I published his first book of poetry and we both were involved in “RiverRuns” a show that we wrote with other poets and musicians.

Simma’s music and poetry is rooted in the North East and this track exemplifies the Newcastle spirit of living life to the full. It also reminded me that we have to live with the past and all its consequences. 

My brother sent me a photo recently and I saw in him a resemblance to our Father. It made me realise we all carry with us bits of our past, some good and others more dangerous.

Pathways to the Past

 

The woodland that winter warmed generations

Is now home to crumbling walls with forgotten secrets

Those who once walked the ancient pathways are gone

Some still survive in fireside tales and familial patterns

 

He has his great grandfather’s ears and his father’s chin

She has her wayward Auntie’s ethereal air of mystery

The seasonal patterns of the fields are in their blood

We all live in the shadow of our ancestors

The swelling of his prostrate, the dark lump in her breast

 

© Jeff Price June 2017