Laureate's poem adorns steps at Waterfront park
Stockton CouncilA poem from British Poet Laureate Simon Armitage features on the granite steps of the new Stockton Waterfront urban park amphitheatre.
The specially commissioned piece, titled "Hidden Depths" explored the Waterfront Park's role as a bridge between the town centre and the river Tees.
Its verses are engraved into the events space's 402 steps, set to open on 20 June, with an amphitheatre offering curved seating around a central stage near the riverside.
Armitage said it was an honour to be invited to contribute a poem, adding: "I knew straight away that I wanted to write about the river, marking its importance to the town's identity."
He also considered the "hypnotic and entrancing effects of moving water, how a stretch of river is both a welcome stranger and a familiar resident".
Armitage was appointed to the honorary position in 2019 and works towards promoting poetry and capturing British life.
The role was established in 1668, and previous Poets Laureate include William Wordsworth, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, John Betjeman and Ted Hughes.
Stockton CouncilHidden Depths
The town turned round and the Tees
rose up from its bed, performed
its festival, juggled the sun
in its ripples and swirls.
Years of ferrying rust and grief
to the coast, but it stayed true
to its course and its cause.
Ask the river the time and it always
says now. Where it jigs and twirls
past these banks the river is ours.
Copyright Simon Armitage
The Waterfront Park will open on 20 June as part of the borough's Armed Forces Day celebrations.
