Under Buxted House
The gouged stream ran more loudly
than on our last slogged hike –
that rush was the first signpost
on this Sunday-worn path –
I had chosen the wrong boots
for the rain-slip and clay-stick
of the surface which had changed
after the previous day’s storm
Here the invasion of knotweed
was secure in these conditions
unlike my own slid footings
over roots and low branches
The moss sides of tree trunks
were theatrically intricate –
as if that last heavy downpour
had instructed them to thicken
I was thankful for my dog –
and my walking stick – both found
ways amongst the cake mix mud
to routes left unaffected overnight
I do not have names for all that I saw
Nature does not care for me
and refuses to give up her confusion
for us walkers of man-made breeds