the lost rivers of Wirral
on the old map thin spidery lines
mark rivers brooks streams
some still flow hidden
as they dip into culverts
some have been built over
one is a muddy ditch
that sucks at boots
their names unspoken
or on loan to the roads
in a housing estate
one is a dry fold in the landscape
another traced by groves
across a footpath
they had names faint words
written on a map
Arrowe Greasby the Birket,
the Dibbin and the Clatter
new streams sleuth across land
find their way onto old paths
or carve out new ones
until they meet a river
some empty into lakes
or sea some just drain
soak away into fields
evaporate to clouds
sucked up or drunk
by animals or plants
while at the roadside
a gutter carries a stream
to drain into a man-made river
that has no name and never will
Jim Bennett has written 74 books and numerous chapbooks and pamphlets in a 48 year career as a poet. Jim lives near Liverpool in the UK and tours giving readings of his work throughout the year. He is widely published and has won many competitions and awards for poetry and performance. He runs www.poetrykit.org one of the world’s most successful internet sites for poets.