10 MAY 1986, Page 36

Laxfield

Pure winter and a barking dog Stands on the candied roadway is The only red brown patch in dawn's Powder blue and spider grey Until it stops and goes away Hard coal burns brighter for the cold Outside dawn widens into day Where owls were calling tractors roar The birds are silent and just may Not survive the frost till noon The hollies in the hedge stand up Young tractor drivers stare into The yellow window as they pass And wonder as I wonder who Writes on his pad behind the glass

Oliver Bernard