Churned fields, then woods, mile
after mile;
The wind-swept Broad, its guiding isle;
Then Irstead, and a long meander
Down into Ludham, in jaunty style.
Out of the Ant, a gentle beat;
Free past St. Benet's; then haul the sheet
Below the Thurne, and shoot through Acle,
Plugging the tide into Stokesby Street.
At Stracey, angst; an easy glide
Through Runham Swim; on either side
Grim banks, grey shoals, man's sad detritus;
On into Yarmouth with ample tide.
Breydon; the crumbled might of Rome;
St. Olaves (right way round!); the foam
Of placid flood to Somerleyton,
Completing a voyage from home to home.
A.R. Tomkins
1983