Photo-a-Day (Tuesday, 16th August, 2022)
Near Top Lock
Photo: Dennis Seddon (Sony DSC-WX500)
Another good one Dennis. Just what I like, narrow boat on a canal.
They lull in pools
Like salmon waiting water
To carry them down stream ,
For the great gates to open
Like two hands gathering them into the lock ,
Dropping the boats down the Wigan Flight ,
214 feet eight inches from the summit Top ,
Slow as mountaineers
The descend through wrinkled oak ,
In flooded cells they gently rock
Tied and bound , until out they glide
Ten foot lower into the pound .
Poet
When the coal boats
smoke thick vest ,
grimed in fog on cough rain chests ,
to freezing bones mixed with sweat
the rain poured down on faces met ,
then follow suit each born day ,
to bring a loaf on table pay ,
that child be set to father son ,
the hand me down like I had done ,
to know the grime as ones own skin ,
to know the cut both thick and thin ,
the swirling colours ,
the some days blend ,
then made to rainbows
by God’s own friend,
that warmed the back
so bones could mend ,
like the coal man who made our fires send ,
our eyes to go lost in a flame ...
What a blissful pad . Lovely photo . Meaningful words . None of the drivel we usually get .
Very good e, the last two lines of your poem evoked lots of memories for me as a young girl. I used to " get lost" gazing into the open fire, on a freezing cold night, in our two up two down,with outside toilet, and see all the Images in the flames.Sorry Dennis!! Nice photo. It's surprising what memories a photo or poem can bring to mind.