Poems of the River Stour

This blog post features two poems written by Linda Bevan and Jo Porth, both members of the Sturmer and District WI. Jo Porth is Secretary to the Sturmer Village Hall Charity. Their committee has been organising some events to celebrate the River Stour Festival in Sturmer, including a fun run, showing the film The River Runs through us and a photo competition. Whilst Jo’s poem portrays the beauty of the Stour, Linda’s poem shows us another dimension of the river, when it is in flood.
We will feature some more poems from members of the Sturmer and District WI in coming weeks.
Flood in Sturmer by Linda Bevan
Woken up in the morning
S’posed to be an early warning
Open the door
Look at the floor
Water lapping – just a few feet
Cars making a tidal wave through The Street
Run to the back
Peer into the dark
Water lapping – just a few feet
Back and front soon will meet!
On the email
On the phone
Write to the Councillor
Have a moan
Then anxiously waiting to see how high –
Phew by noon it’s receding
Highways finally answers our pleading
Clears that gully but it’s too late – our neighbours cars have met their end
There’s no chance they’ll ever mend
Next morning
Review the damage
Mud on the drive
Garage swimming
But every cloud has a silver lining they say
At least now I can throw all that junk away!
Across Broad Meadow by Jo Porth
Across Broad Meadow the River Stour,
A cottage built with Tudor power,
For fifty years has been our home,
Where ancient man and Romans roam,
The river running through the Mere,
Now home to heron, fox and deer,
Badgers, otters all live here,
Tawny owls that call at night,
Barn owls with their ghostly flight,
Buzzards call, with their cat like sound,
Wigeon and mallard abound,
Daises and orchids can be found,
The River Stour where swans swim,
And in the summer swallows skim,
Across Broad Meadow the River Stour,
In Sturmer Mere our hidden bower