An Entry submitted as part of The Eldon Street High Street Heritage Action Zone Unnatural History Poetry Competition run in conjunction with Fusion. schools across the Borough were given the chance to get their poetry featured alongside that of Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate. Simon is the Poet in Residence for the HSHAZ project and has written a poem called ‘Unnatural History’ inspired by Eldon St and the contents of the old natural history museum that was located on the street. Young people were invited to write a poem, like Simon, about an animal encounter on Eldon Street or in the Victorian Arcade.

Next Big Thing Group 

Eldon street 

People 
Pigeons 
Passing 
Barnsley 
Standing tall 
Air thick with noise 
Cigs ends on pavements 
Empty windows 
Thick with silt
Dust 
Life 
Beautiful 
And brutal 
Standing proud 
Hiding secrets 
Cheek by jowl 
Cracked slabs still holding strong 
In this town where we belong 
Broken buildings 
People 
Places 
Buses 
Bustling 
Swinging pendulum 
Of old meets new 
Dried up life it spews 
Across the grit 
Look up 
Step back 
Life flows 
Through this artery 
Still holding strong 
In this town 
Where we belong