k u .co. mind our y think re #IFeelBetterWhen Down the valley and back I feel better when I walk to Quorn from Barrow On pavements laid by water meadows. Set close by the River Soar Slabs stretch for half a mile or more Bordered by the thick lush grass Fields of forage fed by floods. When rain has rinsed the surface stone The pathway gleams as clean as new High pitched pylons frame my view. Amphibia discharge their spawn Runners and ramblers step in turn To trickle through the watery marsh Sometimes I’ll take a stick or staff. Slabs might be raised or cracked or sunk Briskly tread both rough and smooth Better put my worst shoes on So I can risk the mud and sludge. Cattle, seagulls, herd and flocks Swans in pairs and dogs in packs Trace my footsteps if I run. Liveried narrow boats in line Fly flapping flags of pants and jeans Through the Soar’s black liquid brew Throbbing engines stir and screw. Though my return is straight and narrow From well fed Quorn to bony Barrow Tin trailers on a caravan park Wink temptation in the dusk. Might orange sunsets light the sky Above green grass where pavements lie? Jonathan Hill Poetry 68