Day 4

Start seated on the edge of the canal in a nook of stone and I can reach the water

Again it is warm

full of warmth

I make ripples and splashes

on the surfaxe

gentle disturbance

Water runs up my arms to my elbows

rivers

arteries

flowing veins

canals

The stone steps have metal

railings, so

great to balance with

and swing from

Taking the fullness of my substance

Along the tow path

brambles

plants taller than me

hawthorn that I nuzzle into

and stingy nettles

that nip my ankles

Cheery people saying hello

Unperturbed

Accepting this moving

body and the gorgeous

gaggle of followers

and witnesses

Poles to swing around

Lots of nooks to ripple the water from

Tales of the Canal Bank

(who remembers Tales of the River Bank?)

A big line of kids

Instructed to walk in single file

First day back at school

Hannan’s work sounds under the bridge

Deep and rumbly

and visceral

I feel like I’m moving with and

as the inside of the canal

Ducks sleep on a platform on the water

Do not disturb

Bikes, so many bikes,

change the air as they cycle past

Every one an impulse in the body

Suspending time

upending time

A boy fishing after school

(his first day at Tynecastle High and he liked it)

He confirms that yes, there are

10ft Pike in the canal

Thinking today

of the joy of

open-ended time and of slow time

and the politics of that

in an era dominated by:

programming

ticketing

commodifying

stripping us of agency and

chance encounters

Let’s keep our public spaces free of the market place

not Brittle

not Rigid

not Fixed

NEXT: Thursday 18th August 2022

6pm Start and Bridge 3

Near Ashley Terrace ans Ashley Drive