Are soiled, as if by the liqueurs of tar-macadam
Actually the rocks are more like tectonic plates
Though to be truthful I have not seen any of those
This place is towards the heads of the valley
A small man-made dam of brackish water
Perhaps a spot for children to play
If ever they could blooming well get here
It is on, or right beside
The Pennine Way, so maybe
It is a stop-off point; for serious walkers
With tents, campfires, real ale, and wild swimming
For me it is a place a good distance away
Away from what you might ask
Well, what would Robert Frost say
Or Ted Hughes, or Virginia Wolf
But I won’t on this occasion use their words
For they might not get it right
Because only I really know how I am feeling
Though, as yet, I don’t have the tools to tell you
Happenstance in Heptonstall
Poems Started at Lumb Bank
Arvon 2018