Downstream

and their parents and
grandparents before them –
and continue to do so, others
have only turned to the river
in the past few years and now
they can’t keep away from it.
They describe the thrill of
seeing life from water level,
of being part of nature;
they’re surprised at how clean
it is, they enjoy the wildlife,
the current and the tide. In the
past ten years or so, after
decades of avoiding the place,