Rants, Whispers and Cries: Thinking of Peterloo

This poem was especially written for the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo massacre by Andrew Rudd, Poet-in-Residence at Manchester Cathedral, and featured in the Peterloo Commemoration Service on 7th July. A collectable letterpress ‘broadside’ print of the poem is available, in a limited edition of 200. The title lettering by Stephen Raw, is taken from a clandestine banner made after the massacre. This broadside has been printed at the Incline Press, Oldham by Graham Moss and Kathy Whalen, and costs £5. Please contact Andrew Rudd if you would like one.
​1
The city seems so quiet
In early morning sun.
Towers sprout on the skyline
Like a fist in the air
Unfolding its fingers
One by one.

Beware those who believe
they own the earth –
theirs is not the kingdom

2
Next to the helter-skelter,
Outside Manchester Central:
Boarding, planks, cement
And a Mather and Ellis
Stonemason’s van
Constructing a monument.

Beware those who live like kings
but refuse
the responsibility of kings

3
We watch from our moral vantage
Across two hundred years.
From Oldham, Middleton, Stockport
Marchers converge for hours
Until the square’s a multitude
Like ripened corn or flowers.

    Beware those who assume
they are on the side of righteousness –
but forget those who hunger and thirst
4
‘Ye are many, they are few’
The Cap of Liberty rising.
You couldn’t move for people –
So close their hats were touching.
Horses, muskets, sabres,
Ready, waiting, watching.

Beware those
    who live in fear
when they are the cause of fear
5
If it’s power versus people
The chance of peace looks thin.
Fife bands, banners, soldiers –
So many caught between.
If it’s nail versus hammer,
Who do you think’s going to win?

Beware those who build walls
    in the name of God – they will find themselves
walled out of life

6
And have those cries been silenced
In a world that’s split by hate?
They whisper through the library,
They echo in the street.
A passing siren, blue lights,
An ambulance heads for Deansgate.

Forgive us who make monuments
of regret, about acts
we are still committing
​
Andrew Rudd,
​Poet-in-Residence Manchester Cathedral

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