I hear there are monster perch in this river, Shifford Lock

I hear there are monster perch in this river

Why did I wait years

for chub, dace, roach, bream?

Big river, waders on, water clear –

mashed pellet, wriggling bait, as here

and there I cast for a gleam

of something I waited for years…

Work, kids, maybe even fear

of this space, this standing still, this dream

of big river, water like years

flowing on, resistance, pull, and I hear

there are monster perch in this stream

So why did I wait years?

Shifford was one of the last locks to be built on the River Thames. The beam pound lock was constructed on dry land, and it was only when it was finished in 1897 that the new river route (named Shifford Lock Cut) was excavated, incorporating the lock. Nowadays the old river is navigable only by canoe.

Fishing - you can fish by the Weir walkway.

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