THE NIGHT PIECE

The fog drifts slowly down the hill
And as I mount gets thicker still,
Closes me in, makes me its own
Like bedclothes on the paving stone.

Here are the last few streets to climb,
Galleries, run through veins of time
Almost familiar where I creep
Toward sleep like fog, through fog like sleep.

--Thom Gunn

Berklee’s poetry Walk was laid in October 2003 along Edison Street between Shattuck and Milvia Streets. The route includes 128 metal plates with excerpts from songs, each of which is related in one way or another to the city of Berkeley.

The plaque features a poem by the poet, born in Great Britain (1929-2004). Thom Gunn was the literary name of Thomson William Gunn, who moved to the United States in 1954 and taught at Berkeley University. Gunn dealt in his music with drug use, homosexuality, and the lifestyle of the gay community in San Francisco.