Eavesdropping Kashmir (Led Zeppelin, August 1979) Poem by Richard George

On Friday I unfrocked Fourth
from its alb and tracked the comet
of stylus over glittering tar,
rapt at the tangerine flame of label.

On Saturday, in the hope
of stray muezzin on the wind
we embarked into gathering owl-light for Knebworth.
The glade of our lay-by
alchemised bombardment
into subtle thunder.
Hours, they made us wonder.

We picked the words from trees
echo-floodlit, racked the zenith
for riffing clouds, solo-constellations.
In my boy-king's box, blithe
to copyright or their trespasses
I ape-guitared.

On our way home every winding lane was a chord change.

On DVD, they blind me
in the beam of their juggernaut.
But buried in the Araby mane of night
Stevenage became Srinagar
and Hertfordshire fledged
as a sub-continent