In reply to Sl@te Head: Thank you, Ian. Pleased that you like it. The poem has been in the writing for years. Jim Perrin when he first saw it, getting on for 20 years ago now, when I was just starting out, he said I was best to put it to one side for a while - it needed a lot of work, and time to settle. It was meeting you in the quarries that finally finished the poem. It was a very brief meeting, but the quiet yet impassioned way you spoke about what you'd been doing that day, and the way you mentioned your grandfather were inspiring. So, it is not only that the last part of the poem is about your presence in those quarries, but it is also because of you and very much informed by your creative energy.
And I am so pleased the poem has connected with you as it has - publishing and stuff can have its rewards, but simply knowing I've managed to write a poem that connects as it has is most rewarding.
Kind regards, Mark