Somewhere in Yorkshire, England, Tears are Falling
Poetry
These tears are falling in Yorkshire, England,
where it’s raining again, we’re all wearing kagools, and it’s impossible to feel Chelsea.
Every morning someone says ‘morning’
every day I pretend I have somewhere to go.
In a window seat, I drink coffee and city nostalgia sits like an echo
they’ve stopped asking ‘to go?’
I ask a woman with pearls and charisma
‘what’s the time please?’
She answers like it matters, only I know it doesn’t.
She turns and orders skinny latte.
A tall man in a pinstripe suit talks legalese on his cellphone.
I ask, ‘what’s the time please?’ he furrows his brow, hands gesticulating.
Everyone here is complicated, even in Yorkshire
and if these dales and moors can’t offer peace, I must still
long for London buzz and busy
and you.
You are the man on the cellphone
somewhere in London,
furrowing his brow;
I would like to be his signal
I would like to be a cellphone
and for him to hear me.
I would like all suits to hear me.
I would like all suited charismas
who breeze in and out of city coffee shops
to run off to the hills
where they can’t get a signal.
But then I’d only chase more signals in other cities, or woodlands, or coastal paths
where a charismatic woman
tells me the time then asks me
for something—anything,
where another man in a suit furrows his brow,
I wait
until slowly, he smiles.
The espresso machine hisses
someone laughs
a couple kiss.
Passers-by fold away their umbrellas. A cloudless sky sings blue melancholy.
After sunset, a light rain clears the streets, washes me with serenity at last.
Yes, somewhere in Yorkshire
in a drizzle like serein,
tears are falling.
* * * * *
After 'Someone in Paris, France, is Thinking of You' by Alex Dimitrov published in The New Yorker, 3 July 2023.
About the Creator
Teresa Renton
Inhaling life, exhaling stories, poetry, prose, flash or fusions. An imperfect perfectionist who writes and recycles words. I write because I love how it feels to make ink patterns & form words, like pictures, on a page.
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Comments (18)
Dear Teresa - Although I'm a Californian my wife was British and would make 'Yorkshire' Pudding on demand -Yum - I was told there's actually a "Pudding Lane." Sorry to be silly...it's just fun how our stories pop-out the baked good memories of our readers - I hear that all of the time from my followers - and that's why 'The Love of Writing' brings us such pleasure. Jay in L.A.
"In a window seat, I drink coffee and city nostalgia sits like an echo" *Blissful sigh* I know the poem's tone was more melancholic than romantic, but your protagonist has the point of view of a romantic, and thus the reader (me) is stuck in this odd place feeling sympathetic yet also inspired. <3 This should've gotten a Top Story.
This is one of those poems you have to read a second time just to appreciate how good it really was.
https://vocal.media/history/whispers-of-history-rpqh0fj5
Nice story 👍
Oh this was gorgeous and heartbreaking. It reminds me of the song “Manhattan” 😭💕
Woaw Love it so soft and expressing it all! Beautiful poetry!
city nostalgia sits like an echo - what a perfect way to put it 😁
Those first two lines! How did I feel them so viscerally?!
Teresa, I have no words to describe how this poem makes me feel. It is superb!
This was so poignant and made me very emotional! I loved it!
Wonderful!! Loved this!!!❤️❤️💕
A cut above.
This is a beautiful piece. Well done.
This feels like a New Yorker poem! Absolutely stunning and deep. The opening caught me up: “ These tears are falling in Yorkshire, England, where it’s raining again, we’re all wearing kagools, and it’s impossible to feel Chelsea.” Your words feel full of melancholy, even irritation, yet the cycle of emotion during a rain storm seems to be perfectly expressed here, the angst as is builds and falls, the reprieve when some sun comes back out, and the realization that those emotions may have been heightened but still ring true. Definitely a wow poem. You command the verses. I love it. ❤️ I feel this is a top story. But also, I can see it winning the free verse category in the Vocal Awards. Gorgeous pic too, btw.
Beautiful words and I will congratulate you now on this definte Top Story
Oh my. I love this. Wonderful poem. Truly. I live on the edge of Yorkshire, so it resonates because of that, but also, irrespective of place, I can absolutely empathise with the to be needed, to be seen, sentiment. There is a readiness to life in a buzz, and when it's not there, getting a purchase on momentum and meaning can feel like drizzle. Thank you for writing this. Sterling job.
Haven't read that original piece you mentioned - will search it out later. This is stunning, though, Teresa. Love the almost conversational feel to it. Also reminds me a little of my time living in Yorkshire before returning to the homeland. Well done!