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<\/p>\nA poem from British Poet Laureate Simon Armitage features on the granite steps of the new Stockton Waterfront urban park amphitheatre.<\/p>\n
The specially commissioned piece, titled “Hidden Depths” explored the Waterfront Park’s role as a bridge between the town centre and the river Tees.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
Armitage was appointed to the honorary position in 2019 and works towards promoting poetry and capturing British life.<\/p>\n
The role was established in 1668, and previous Poets Laureate include William Wordsworth, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, John Betjeman and Ted Hughes.<\/p>\n
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Stockton Waterfront urban park will open later this month, the council said [Stockton Council]<\/p>\n
Hidden Depths<\/p>\n
The town turned round and the Tees<\/p>\n
rose up from its bed, performed<\/p>\n
its festival, juggled the sun<\/p>\n
in its ripples and swirls.<\/p>\n
Years of ferrying rust and grief<\/p>\n
to the coast, but it stayed true<\/p>\n
to its course and its cause.<\/p>\n
Ask the river the time and it always<\/p>\n
says now. Where it jigs and twirls<\/p>\n
past these banks the river is ours.<\/p>\n
Copyright Simon Armitage<\/p>\n
The Waterfront Park will open on 20 June as part of the borough’s Armed Forces Day celebrations<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow BBC Tees on X,<\/a> Facebook<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> and Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n More on this storyRelated internet links