Inspired by an evening walk around the small pond and nature reserve in Barlborough. There are indeed pike in there, plus carp and roach, and there's now a heron too.
Barlborough Pond
The evening sun is melting in the west
as birds, invisible among the leaves,
call back and forth across the summer air.
I walk in silence where the grass path weaves
its way around the placid, reedy pond
and see the face of nature shining there.
The purple twists atop the thistle's stem,
thick briars reaching out to scratch your skin,
green lilies crowd together at the edge
as if to cover up what lies within.
Below the surface pike lurk in the dark,
they wait with patience for their sorry prey.
As quick as lightning bolts the long fish strike,
and death comes swiftly at the close of day.
Yet none of this is seen, the mirror shows
only reflections of eternal skies
and they fade too as creeping blackness grows
and all the world is swallowed up and dies.
Tim Fellows 2020
