Touch by James Salisbury (slate river created by Tom Stogdon)

Cumbrian Black Slate, with inserts of Penryn Heather Slate

The text is taken from Thom Gunn’s poem ‘Touch’. Gunn was a major English poet in the 1960s and 70s, experimenting with improvised forms of writing

“I was struck by these lines for their simplicity and feeling of shared isolation. I wanted the tone of the slate to echo the colour of the night, with the slate river of heather-red chippings alluding to the hidden warmth found within.”