A poem by Daniel Bennett
We followed the path by the shore
where water ran clear as air
sinking from the mountains
bleeding into a mineral elixir
of potassium, sodium,
a blend of salt and carbonate,
where grey mullet bred
beside the wooden jetty
and children dived from the pontoon
wobbling around its anchor
and a young girl howled
across the indifferent depths
and I said I wanted to drift,
like the old sloop we came across
with its painter rotted through
that nestled by the inlet
of white stone seamed with quartz,
a path thick with clay
where the bathers risk duck fleas
and the aching cold of the shallows
and where we found peace
that summer afternoon
watching the steamer print waves
across the steady waters.
*
Daniel Bennett was born in Shropshire and lives in London. His poem ‘Clickbait’ was commended in the 2020 National Poetry Competition and his work has been published in a variety of places, including Wild Court, The Manchester Review, Structo, The Stinging Fly, Under The Radar, Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, and The Best New British and Irish Poets 2017. His first collection ‘West South North, North South East’ was published in 2019.