by Sebastian Barker
for Aidan Andrew Dun
Behold, a swan. Ten houseboats on the Lee.
A cyclist on the towpath. Gentle rain.
A pigeon in a white apple-blossoming tree.
And through the Marsh the rumble of a train.
Two courting geese waddle on the bank
Croaking. A man unties his boat.
Police cars howl and whoop. And vast and blank
The rain cloud of the sky is trampled underfoot.
Behold, a dove. And in Bomb Crater Pond
Fat frogs ignore the rain.
Each trembling rush signals like a wand
Earthing the magic of London once again.
In the heart of Hackney, five miles from Kentish Town,
By Lammas Lands the reed beds are glowing rich and brown.
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