All the rivers I make, Kelmscott

All the rivers I make

All the rivers

flow into me

Cray and Evenlode

 

All the patterns

they make

Lea and Loden

 

All the roll and ramble,

bind and blossom,

All the turn and tangle,

cling and carry

 

All the lives I live

in the patterns

they make

Kennet and Wandle

 

All the rivers

flow out of me

Cray and Evenload

By Robert Seatter

Kelmscott

Kelmscott Manor, in the village of the same name, was the home of artist and designer William Morris, and the river with its many small tributaries was the inspiration for many of Morris’s best-loved designs.

Kelmscott is a beautifully preserved, small rural village on the north bank of the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, close to the Gloucestershire border and about 2.5 miles east of Lechlade.

If you enjoyed this poem, take a look at the other Thames Path 30th Anniversary poems.