Here’s my little contribution to National Poetry Day: a poem about unsung heroes which has been taken from my latest collection, The Metal Exchange.

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COGS

For too long unheeded, it’s time
to note their virtues: the way
they grip and take the strain;
their down-to-earth precision.

Gearing up doggedly, with only
occasional jolts and judders,
the odd involuntary moan,
they are truly fit for purpose,
when there’s work to do.

Tight-lipped and stubborn,
their staying power outlasts
newfangled knowingness,
your brittle take on a world
they alone sustain.

All they lack in intuition
is neither here nor there,
so long as wheels are turning
and bright contraptions sing.

What you have called
your bigger picture seems
to have passed them by.

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