Accession Code: wu1092 Title: Resonance Date completed: 2021 Classification: Poem Medium: Height (mm): Width (mm): Depth (mm): Inscription: Location Name: Faculty of Arts Building Location Description: Foyer Wall Location Floor: 0

Commission supported by Lady Butterworth.

This poem was commissioned for the new Faculty of Arts building.

The birds sound different in this city.
I'm new to their rhythms, can't place them easily.
Jarring, precise, I have to listen.

I've never been one for birds nor envisioned
ever thinking birds were godly.
But the birds sound different in this city.

I bought audiobooks about birds - didn't listen.
Their names and looks uncharted astronomy
But the birds sound different in this city.

They sing from trees in sleet storms, shy persistent
The birds sound different in this city
The birds have invented a new religion.

Settling here was not my mission
But wherever I live I live honestly
The birds sound different in this city.

Walking these streets I feel forgiven
The bells of the birds are auguries
They tell me I've finally found a way of living
The birds sound different in this city.

The poem is a villanelle – a nineteen-line poetic form that traditionally addresses pastoral subjects. This sparkling, complex form had its origins in Italian harvest fields during the Renaissance. It was a dance song, exchanged between people, and later adopted by poets.

The poem has been made into a metal frieze. To avoid its presentation as signage, we asked for an example of Raymond’s writing. He sent us the poem, written out on lined paper, which has been incorporated into the design.

The poem emphasises the need to listen. It evokes a sense of conflicting faiths and beliefs that are finally resolved with the clarity that is brought by understanding who you really are.