THE DART
In these icy, life-giving waters,
my body cleansed,
my hope restored.
The rowers,
like the geese,
glide in blissful union.
A tribute,
to the tributary,
to the other way,
the mindful way.
Through the silence,
nine poems forming.
A myriad of emotions.
This shared sense,
of what can be.
Away from the stressors,
the familial perceptions,
the masks,
wounds,
non-stop needs.
Nine poems forming.
An identity,
naked of history.
Free and wild.
Like the ocean which awaits the Dart
A Willow tree.
Weaving,
sawing,
bending.
Alone and together
This work with our hands,
a shelter,
for when the rains return.
A friendship.
Typical of the territory.
Not forged on common ground,
but on a shared smile,
a sense of the other.
This impermanent tribe.
A eulogy,
to the function,
of unfamiliar friendship.
Napping like the cats,
a pandemic of our own.
For tired bodies,
and weary souls.
In the safety of the circle,
we sit.
Upstairs.
Clinking,
cooking,
creating.
The sounds of communion,
of equal effort,
open hearts,
and conscious thought.
This harmony begs the question,
who is the imposter who shares this vessel?
A day on the Dart.
A timeless day on the Dart.
JANUARY 2020
THE RIVER DART
I think I’ve rather fallen for the Dart.
This priceless stretch,
from Totnes to the Trust,
where time and type hold no sway.
A home for wildlife and wild hearts,
Descending on Dartmouth, each with their own reason…
to pause.
The outside world cannot grab you here.
Stare into those weaving, winding waters.
The Dart offers no distractions,
just a mirror on the illusion of self.
Feel into the land
which flows alongside her.
Those grasslands,
and marshlands.
Woodlands,
and walkways.
Each alive with its own story.
One told to our ancestors,
another our offspring.
In unison and deference
to the many lives that dress the Dart,
sits a community.
A trust,
in name and deed.
Each week a new beginning,
versed in the ways of the Barn
by a few kind hearts.
Weaving a thread.
Creating a tapestry of unspoken connection.
A timeless, type-less community.
Dancing back from Devon,
with a newfound love of the Dart.
