July - River Ant
Darting dragon fly, royal kingfisher and stoic heron.
Flashes of greens, blues, greys, and we’re smitten.
By the beauty, the peace of the timeless river Ant.
Her waters are clear, mostly, and harbour
a multitude of white and pink lilies,
a few frogs and a swimming snake.
No motor boats, noise or fumes, just us in our canoe.
Gently paddling up stream.
The Ant here is smooth and silent. Serene.
Barton, Wayford and Dilham drift past.
Unheard of Norfolk villages.
And the Ant gets narrow and narrower.
We push our way through the lilies now,
momentarily disturbing their glory.
They close ranks behind us.
And we reach our destination.
A lock: a lock, old and disused.
Unpassable.
We linger.
We turn around.
We drift back downstream. Satisfied.
Flashes of greens, blues, greys, and we’re smitten.
By the beauty, the peace of the timeless river Ant.
Her waters are clear, mostly, and harbour
a multitude of white and pink lilies,
a few frogs and a swimming snake.
No motor boats, noise or fumes, just us in our canoe.
Gently paddling up stream.
The Ant here is smooth and silent. Serene.
Barton, Wayford and Dilham drift past.
Unheard of Norfolk villages.
And the Ant gets narrow and narrower.
We push our way through the lilies now,
momentarily disturbing their glory.
They close ranks behind us.
And we reach our destination.
A lock: a lock, old and disused.
Unpassable.
We linger.
We turn around.
We drift back downstream. Satisfied.