Above the Flood
Here it is idyllic: a quivering river the colour of sage,
ducklings, cygnets, sunny-blue sky …
But this is a land
where the floods fall heavy, where this same river
may swell like a ghost, leer through a window,
arch over a roof,
consume.
An occasional breeze brings in the scent of a sheep
sodden and drowned in the weir last year,
rabbit or badger cut off in a burrow,
fox in a water logged den.
This river today is a nun in retreat –
but there’s always a threat in the rain.
I read of a child washed away from the bank,
tumbled around in indifferent swirl,
as random as blossom or moth.
Page(s) 29
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