Poem Illustration. The Straight and Narrow by Simon Armitage.

We have been asked to produce illustrations for the Shell House Gallery in Ledbury. The poem is called The Straight and Narrow by Simon Armitage.

When the bearded careers advisor
set up his stall and slide-projector,

something clicked. There on the silver screen,
like a photograph of the human soul,

the X-ray plate of the ten-year-old girl
who swallowed a toy. Shadows and shapes,

mercury tinted lungs and a tin foil heart,
alloy organs and tubes, but bottom left,

the caught-on-camera lightning strike
of the metal car: like a neon bone,

some classic roadster with an open top,
and a man at the wheel in goggles and cap,

motoring on through the deep, internal dark.
The clouds opened up;we were leaving the past,

drawn by a star that had risen inside us, some as astronauts, and some as taxi-drivers.



I loved this poem, it is so descriptive, there are many illustrations I could have done but we only have a week to complete so here are my sketches and finished images.

......like a photo of the human soul,

the X-ray plate of a ten year old girl

who swallowed a toy.

.....the caught on camera lightening strike

of the metal car; like a neon bone,

some classic roadster with an open top

and a man at the wheel in goggles and cap,

motoring through the deep, internal dark. 

WHOOPS Suddenly realised he does not have a cap!

Thats better!