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On water, by Britta Benson

Picture credit: Britta Benson

I crossed the Channel on from Dunkerque to Dover today, spending a good chunk of the journey on deck, staring at the water. Here’s what I thought:

On water

Who does water belong to?

Lines on charts

mark territories.

Water laughs,

moves,

here, there,

depending on tides,

winds,

the murmur of moments.

We draw borders,

write labels,

worry about identity.

Water belongs to water.

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9 thoughts on “On water, by Britta Benson

  1. I’m sorry to say that my mind went stupidly puerile on reading this and I PONDered about time and TIDE waiting for no man (or woman). I wondered whether we would SEA the water WAIVING her territorial rights, and so on. Forgive me for being such a DRIP!

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Hi Britta! Your poem reminded me of the lyrics of a beautiful Hindi song “Panchhi nadiya pawan ke jhonke, koi sarhad na inhe roke” It means that no border can stop birds, rivers and gust of wind. The singer goes on to question that what have we humans achieved after drawing lines and making borders?

    Really appreciate the thought behind your poem! Keep writing….

    Liked by 1 person

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