I married the Angel of the North (extract)

I have married the Angel of the North
because it is bigger than me
because its roots are 100 feet in Northern soil
because it is always in when I call
because it is always in flight when I call
because it sees the horizons the rest of us don’t
because in my waking dreams
the imagined wush-wushing
of those great boat paddle wings
pushes the slowing blood
through all our Northern veins

“Peter Mortimer is the unsung hero of Northern literature”
– Newcastle Journal

“His poetry is highly coloured, and is out to charm us” – Stand

“…this attractively produced collection juxtaposes jollity with more substantial and enjoyably gloomy pieces. My favourite is “log”, an ambitious and lovely poem about growing children and a weighty piece of flotsam that takes up residence by the fire…” – Other Poetry

Peter Mortimer runs the Iron Press, and is a full-time writer of plays and poems, and of travel books. His previous books include: Broke Through Britain, featuring a penniless walk from one end of the country to another; A Rainbow in its Throat (poems); The Last of the Hunters, a documentary about North Sea fishermen. One of his stories appeared in Five Leaves’ City of Crime