Legendary Mersey poet Brian Patten has paid tribute to his hero Wilfred Owen.

On his recent visit to Wirral, Brian donated a handwritten copy of his poem "Sleep Now" which was originally dedicated to the memory of the great war poet, who was educated in Birkenhead when it was first published in the 1960s.

 

Presenting the transcript to The Wilfred Owen Story Museum, Brian said, “It was one of my first successful adult poems. I think I was 16 when I wrote it; a few words in it have been changed over the years.

"Congratulations on keeping Owen's light alive in his hometown.”

Earlier that day, Brian had visited Ye Old Cracke pub in Liverpool, the scene of his first meeting with fellow Mersey poets Roger McGough and Adrian Henri. Patten recalled many occasions in the bar when John Lennon would be seen having a drink.

The poem Sleep Now was first published in the iconic "Mersey Sound" anthology, which is still the biggest selling volume of verse in the UK of all time.

SLEEP NOW

In memory of Wilfred Owen

Sleep now,

Your blood moving in the quiet wind;

No longer afraid of the rabbits

Hurrying through the tall grass

Or the faces laughing from

The beach and among cold trees.

Sleep now,

Alone in the sleeves of grief,

Listening to clothes falling

And your flesh touching God;

To the chatter and backslapping

Of Christ meeting heroes of war.

Sleep now,

Your words have passed

The lights shining from the East

And the sound of flak

Raping graves and emptying seasons.

You do not hear the dry wind pray

Or the children play a game called soldiers

In the street.

 

Patten's unique, personally-signed copy of the poem can be viewed in a special series of events commemorating Remembrance Week at the Wilfred Owen Story in Argyle Street, Birkenhead.