Chirk Aqueduct

Chirk Aqueduct

Three golden arches rise secure:
a solid triptych, massive and serene.
Their depth is known
by sombre distant forms in grey and green,
by airy curves seen in-between,
by tilting shadows.

The topmost band of opaque sky
is deepest blue, its light abstracted.
Water is sensed, because you see below
three stony arches once again,
by sandy land and ochre grain
softly interrupted.

The motionless river’s grey
reflects the foliage against the sky,
the mottled planes in muted tones,
the slanting shadows.
A horizontal band of water-stone
is hidden, un-constructed.

Is this a classical dream transposed
onto a scene in Northern Wales,
or the aqueduct at Chirk
mirrored and inverted?
Three golden arches rest, secure:
enduring windows, solid and serene.