Towpath

© Matthew Word Bain

upriver from the dam
this craggy peak juts out
what lies below the surface?
what is the lay of the land
beneath the water?

shaped by many hands
and many plans
the landscape
endures
the water
keeps flowing

and trains
continue
carrying coal
along this grey line

the curve of the track
a fine and subtle smoothing
of the river’s coarser curves
and transposition of the thalweg