A BRADFORD poet has created a piece which will form part of an initiative in celebration of National Poetry Day today.

"Everything Flows" came about after BBC Local Radio commissioned local woman Kate Fox (and 11 others) to write a poem on the topic of "change."

The final creation was a real community effort, with listeners of BBC Radio York sending in tales of changes large and small to inspire Mrs Fox.

Rivers, the embodiment of constant, gradual change, form the base of the poem and this is entwined with mention of memories and the coming and going of life milestones.

This is as much about people as it is the region itself.

But, it isn't of a sombre mood and the pink-haired Mrs Fox wanted to highlight that change doesn't have to be so uncomfortable.

She said: “People wrote in with their stories, which were as much about the little things as about life’s big turning points.

"I wanted to disturb the idea that Yorkshire is always the same. Change is a constant, and if you can accept that then it’s less of an upsetting surprise.”

She added that popular images often show Yorkshire as being timeless, but she believes it's much more dynamic than that, with an eye on the future as well as the past.

This is highlighted in the poem's final line: "Not timeless or unchanging. Only slow."

Poetry is important in capturing change as it can capture what pollsters and statisticians miss as time goes by, according to Susannah Herbert, director of National Poetry Day.

Mrs Fox, who grew up in Bradford but now lives in Thirsk said: "I love going back to Bradford to see how it’s changed over the twenty five years since I left to go to university.

"I think the centre's better than it has been for years at the moment."

This joint initiative sees the BBC and National Poetry Day linking up for the third year running.

All the poems will be heard across the BBC local radio stations later today and on BBC regional TV news at 6:30pm.