The benefit of a short walk

By Rhiannonw

Mon, 31 Aug 2020
  • 703 reads
7 comments
 

A short walk at last from village out to weir,
where the river separates from the mill leet
(rejoins in the village, no mill now).
What a lovely rushing sound, tumbling waters.
Fix it in memory with the scene –
placid, restful (despite the noise?
because it is natural noise?)
shades of soothing green.
    Can’t capture the stirring of leaves in the trees,
    can’t capture the cause, the refreshing breeze,
    can’t capture the sound, the noise, the peace
but the photo reminds of all of these,
and the sense of release
from home!

 

Certificate U
Poem
Countryside explorations
Nature
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Lovely Rhiannon and so refreshing. Even a short walk in the right enviroment is such a release and you have your photo to remind you.

I'm so glad you managed to get out and hope you can have many more walks.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Jenny. I've been rather confined, and hope to be able to get out a bit more often again. But it does make you appreciate the countryside, as you said after your hip operation recovery. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Nolan on

Wonderful x! What an amazing, beautiful country such scenic nature on your doorstep & !

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Yes, thanks. We can often miss the loveliness of the ordinary wonders of nature around us! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Nolan on

Sorry to sound stupid Rhiannon but what exactly is a "weir" ? I know the word from the poem Salley Gardens by Yeates. The poem is of absolute brilliance I think it was originally on some Irish traditional song.

I thought that maybe it was a kind of marsh? And also what is the "mill leet" ?

See you then! &&

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

A weir is a sort-of low dam built across a river to raise the level of water upstream or regulate its flow. The water of the river dropping over the dam makes a little waterfall, which gives the lovely sound of rushing water. It can be where a canal or leet (sometimes spelt 'leat') leaves to the side to feed water to move the miill wheel at a watermill, to turn the stone to grind the wheat, – or that was what used to happen years ago. Not many working watermills now. In the photo above the leet channel of water led back behind where I was standing photographing the weir.

Hope that helps! Otherwise you'll have to 'google' to undersand more! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Nolan on

Thank you for taking so much trouble in explaining, I have seen them and even here there are some "weirs" although I didn't have a name for it. As for the windmills I knew that, but in Holland I believe the wind actually pumps the water, i.e the other way round to keep the sea out! I wonder . .. .

Thanks, I'm not so keen on goooggl either your explanations and photo will suffice.

& Nolan