Sunderland Illuminations Poem by Paul Reed

Roker seafront, October
Sea set in a frown,
Sun long set and over
Full moon looking down;

People shuffling in the park
Stand-stillers and through-crowd surgers,
Big wheel, white in the dark
Hot drinks, sausages and burgers;

And standing in the midst of the night
The lake, free of it's scullers,
A receptacle of myriad light
Reflecting all the colours;

Then a lightshow of sparkling winter
Of bold white and faint starry traces,
Playing games on the gnarly sinter
Of the old grotto's rock faces;

All the people milling around
Young and old amongst the wheels and the cogs,
Talking and shouting, jumping up and down
As long queues formed for the bogs;

Finally the slow drift for home
To places of warmth and shelter,
Toward the final exit they roam
Past the glorious helter skelter;

We will remember the lit-up stones
This rocky old park, the cairns,
And though the cold may have chilled our bones
We know we did it for the bairns.