Monday 9 Feb 2026
TfL launches new winter poetry with a special reading event at Covent Garden station as the 40th anniversary celebrations of Poems of the Underground continue
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- February’s poems feature a mix of international poets and contemporary British writers, including Blake Morrison and Jonathan Davidson, who were part of Poems of the Underground’s 40th anniversary celebrations on 30 January
- Readings by featured poets will take place on Thursday 12 February at 11:00 at Covent Garden station to mark the new set of poetry to be published by the popular Poems on the Underground series
- The new winter poems can be found across London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line trains
Transport for London (TfL) has launched its latest series of Poems on the Underground, as the 40th anniversary celebrations continue. This new winter collection features six poems and will be displayed across London Underground and London Overground and Elizabeth line trains.
Customers are invited to join live poetry readings at Covent Garden station on Thursday 12 February, to mark the six new poems launching with readings from poets Blake Morrison and Jason Salkey.
February’s poems feature a mix of international poets and contemporary British writers, many of which deal with the moments of profundity that can be found as we move about the mundane moments of our day-to-day lives. Kobayashi Issa’s haiku, featuring calligraphy from Yukki Yaura, celebrates the coming of spring and the way the world suddenly comes alive after being frozen.
The new winter poems:
- Blake Morrison’s "Narcissus": A contemporary piece by the acclaimed British poet references the Greek myth in a modern, urban environment
- Jonathan Davidson’s "A Short Piece of Choral Music": A moving reflection on the simple reassurances found in family and the quietude of a kitchen evening
- Jane Hirshfield’s "Da Capo": A poem of renewal and "starting again," using the metaphor of a simple meal to signify healing
- Kobayashi Issa’s “Haiku”: A celebrated work featuring original calligraphy by Yukki Yaura, capturing the sudden awakening of a frozen world
- Rachael Boast’s "Syzygy": A philosophical exploration of the moments where we commune deeply with our surroundings
- Mircea Dinescu’s "Myopic Painter":A poem from the renowned Romanian poet (translated by Adam J. Sorkin and Lidia Vianu) that reflects on love
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said: “Covent Garden is a wonderful setting for our ongoing celebration of Poems on the Underground’s 40th anniversary. The readings bring together international and contemporary work which reflects London’s diversity with poems that help us dwell on the magic of everyday moments. The poems can be seen on display across the network for all to enjoy, as we continue to build a better London for everyone.”
Mark Evers, who oversees customer insight, strategy & experience at TfL, said: "This latest collection of Poems on the Underground beautifully captures those quiet, profound moments that occur even in the middle of a busy commute. We hope our customers enjoy these latest set of poems and our 40th anniversary celebrations throughout the year."
Customers can now see some of the first 100 poems at selected stations, continuing the expansion of the project beyond train carriages. Poems are featured at Heathrow, Seven Sisters, St. John's Wood, and Westminster, and will also release a free "40 Poems for 40 Years" leaflet at stations across the network.
Customers can view the poems and learn more about the project by visiting tfl.gov.uk/poems, or visit the archive of the project at poemsontheunderground.org.
Contact Information
TfL Press Office
Transport for London
0343 222 4141
pressoffice@tfl.gov.uk
Notes to editors
- Poems on the Underground was founded in 1986 by Judith Chernaik and is supported by TfL, Arts Council England, and the British Council. The poems are selected by Judith Chernaik and poets George Szirtes and Imtiaz Dharker
The full selection of poems:
- Narcissus by Blake Morrison
Reprinted by permission of Chatto & Windus from Shingle Street (2015)
Thinking the boiler had packed up from lack of oil
I climbed the rusty tank to peer down the hatch
and there I was, bright-faced and young again,
in the viscous black pool at the bottom.
- A Short Piece of Choral Music by Jonathan Davidson
Reprinted by permission of The Poetry Business from Early Train (Smith/Doorstop 2011)
It’s an evening in late March and in the kitchen
I’m listening to a short piece of choral music,
when my son comes in to fetch himself a bowl
of breakfast cereal which, he tells me, helps
with his revision. And another thing, he goes on,
I shouldn’t worry about him because he’s going
to be fine: exams, work, life, everything, is going
to be fine. That’s a relief, I say to myself, thanks,
now I can listen to this music, which turns out
to be just some fancy noise, nothing
compared with a boy’s cheerfulness.
- Da Capo by Jane Hirshfield
Reprinted by permission of Bloodaxe Books from The Asking: New & Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2024)
Take the used-up heart like a pebble
and throw it far out.
Soon there is nothing left.
Soon the last ripple exhausts itself
in the weeds.
Returning home, slice carrots, onions, celery.
Glaze them in oil before adding
the lentils, water, and herbs.
Then the roasted chestnuts, a little pepper, the salt.
Finish with goat cheese and parsley. Eat.
You may do this, I tell you, it is permitted.
Begin again the story of your life.
- The snow is melting by Kobayashi Issa translated by Robert Hass Calligraphy by Yukki Yaura
Reprinted by permission of Bloodaxe Books from The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson and Issa, tr. Robert Hass (Bloodaxe Books, 2013)
the snow is melting
and the village is flooded
with children.
- Syzygy by Rachael Boast Reprinted by permission of Pan Macmillan
from Sidereal (Picador 2011)
A desire for a house with a glass roof
made me get up and walk the streets
at four in the morning. The full moon was looking
as if she’d passed a loaded remark
at some conference that was drawing to a close.
How strange for the world to have turned
and be facing the other way again.
Why do we sleep through these great rotations?
The night sky sometimes likes a good conversation
and gives me plenty of time to speak before thinking.
- Myopic Painter by Mircea Dinescu translated by Adam J. Sorkin and Lidia Vianu
Reprinted by permission of Bloodaxe Books from The Barbarians’ Return (2018)
Many a madman has imagined himself a general
and some have even become one,
the myopic decorator of Easter eggs may one day paint a church
and it’s not impossible that a comet will later crash into its steeple
and cry out, ‘Christ is risen’
just as you
who swear you love me
may once upon a time even come to love me.
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