19th August 2022 – Friday – 3pm
Start at Bridge No. 4, Meggetland
The weather is gentle
sunny, warmth on the skin
Wind that gently circles and enfolds
South West wind again
The water on the surface of the canal
ripples gently to the East
Touch the telegraph pole that I last touched yesterday
And love the smell of lindeed
Lie on the bank
Dip my hand in the water
Making ripples
Someone smiles and I smile back
It is quiet today
And wilder ever wilder
sights, sounds, smells
and the land breathes calmly
Looking along the tow path
I feel the excitement rise
I am on the way to somewhere
An unknown path
I am eager
If I feel that now
What must that have
meant to the
travellers of 200 years ago
the possiblity
the potential
the adventure
the risk
I know that then you
could buy a ticket
from the Edinburgh end of the
Union Canal with Glasgow,
all the way to CANADA
And
That people travelled
purely for the adventure
of it, because they
could. There was music
and dancing on the
barges and lucky coins
were thrown, sharing
good fortune and
joy. A trip “doon
the watter” and back
home again.
Imaginations fed
Joys shared
Souls nurtured
The path rings with
that energy still
It has a squiggly
wiggly edge
which I follow
Thistle down as soft
as it says it is
It flies into the air
with the wind
The brambles are out
A man, on the other
side, picks them
It is so wild on the
edges, in some
places it is impossible
to see the houses
that back onto
the canal
I have no idea where
I am
Can’t believe I’m in
the city, my city
Feel found, not lost
because there is a
knowing that the path
is on its way
somewhere
It follows the canal
and it will not let me
get lost
Once more time and
space are shifting
Taking time
to be present
Changes time and space
Living in one’s own time
It’s a glorious thing
A woman sits on a
bench
We smile mutually
She pats the seat
beside her
I sit and join her
We talk
She tells me where I am
in the city
I tell her what I’m doing
She said she noticed
that my arms were
doing something
special.
She does Tai Chi and
loves it, but sometimes
she forgets to go.
A problem of being old
she says
And its good to keep
moving she says
I say how friendly I
find this place
That’s good she says
because she gets
lonely and its always
good to have a chat and
see a friendly face.
She wishes me good luck
And I say, I hope
our paths cross again
a chance encounter
gentle
not forced
how do we invite
each other in?
I found myself today
dancing fully and
freely in the spaces
in-between
not wanting to disturb
the rhythm of others
and why they must be there
How to be unseen
yet seen at
the same time
How to invite others in
A gentle invitation
to be accepted and
noticed, or ignored completely
An invitation that
holds that choice
(I know people look back
and watch for a moment
or two)
How do we share
space with each
other?
Invite complexity,
difference, diversity?
How do we do this gently?
Making space
and taking space
at one and the
same time
Someone can cycle
by at the speed
I can step aside
They say ‘thank you’
I say ‘you’re welcome’
I can dance, and
they can jog along
And all feels well
with the world so far
now
The canal boat
passes and we
wave at each other
Sharing the joy
of the journey
NEXT: Saturday 20th August 2022 – 10am – By the fencepost at a 45 degree angle (looks shoogly but holds my weight) opposite CHAS Children’s Hospice, Craiglockhart Ave