Downstream

warned to stay away from
ponds and rivers.
I stack the old swimming
society books into a neat pile
and head back through Eton,
stopping at an antique
bookshop to ask the man
behind the counter if he has
any prints depicting bathing;
he says someone came in the
week before and bought them
all. And would he ever swim
in the Thames? He pulls a
face: ‘I’ve seen the rats, and