… Was Solomon not taught?

And did he not learn?

Was Muhammad not taught?

And did he not learn?

Was Jesus not taught?

And did he not learn?

Are you not taught?

And do you not learn?

And who, who, would be greatest of teachers?

And who, who, would teach the greatest of things?

And if you would but learn one thing?

Then that, that, that in answer would be the greatest of all.

And God, and all of creation, would smile upon you.

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Hikes through Ilkley Moor, Ilkley, Bradford, England, U.K. ~  22 & 23 September 2023

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Pictured is a poem by Simon Armitage carved out of a slab of stone as found on a path that crosses Ilkley moor. Known as Stanza Stones, there are several of these placed across the moor. The poem and inscription reads as follows;

PUDDLE

Rain-junk
Sky-litter
Some May mornings
Atlantic storm-horses
clatter this way,
shedding their iron shoes
in potholes and ruts,
shoes that melt
into steel grey puddles
then settle and set
into cloudless mirrors
by noon.
The shy deer

of the daytime moon
comes to sip from the rim
But the sun
likes the look of itself,
stares all afternoon,
Its hard eye
Lifting the sheen
from the glass,
turning the glaze
to rust.
Then we don’t see things
for dust.

Poem © Simon Armitage 2010