Looking down through dead water.
…
On the ferry,
I liked sitting
on the edge,
looking down,
through dead water*.
…
I was returning
to a place
that was
and was not
my home.
…
I had never
been away,
returning
on the ferry,
looking down.
…
The River Suirs’
waters swirling,
muddy grey,
where it meets
the sea.
…
In the morning,
waiting, waiting.
Nearer now
to the quay,
where he’d be waiting,
with the brake
and horses,
a pair in hand.
…
Home again.
…
Looking down through dead water.
…
©robcullen06032021
…
…
Dead water is the nautical term for a phenomenon which can occur when there is strong vertical density stratification due to salinity or temperature or both. It is common where a layer of fresh or brackish water rests on top of denser salt water, without the two layers mixing.
…
or water eddying beside a moving hull, especially directly astern.
…
or a part of a stream where there is a slack current.
…
©robcullen3.12.2020.Resistance Poetry
WRITTEN BY
Rob Cullen
Rob Cullen artist, writer, poet. Rob runs “Voices on the Bridge” a poetry initiative in Wales. Walks hills and mountains daily with a sheep dog at his side.
