It was flooded – a flood plain
in mid-August [deep enough
to cause disruption to men &
women in walking boots] – a
wide flattening of grasses by
tugging waters & heavy rain –
a slick wind-chipped lake of
run-offs – hill spilt flows – We
enter it [& I feel my boots fill
with hard-to-shift rainwater –
burning cold & toe-curling] –
my dog swims alongside me
as my thighs are chilled by a
slump-depth [by a sunk ditch
that I knew would pull on me
before I had set off to wade] –
before I felt its cool invasion
on my body – on a dog walk