I feel a bit bad about this. I don’t know what this woman’s name was really, but she honestly looked like what I imagine the mythical water witch Peg Powler to look like, if she were doing lengths at Hathersage Outdoor Swimming Pool.
Night is falling by the water;
Air grows cold, the sun is setting,
Midges hover near the surface
It’s no place for little children.
Peg Powler’s greenish head emerges
– Then submerges, re-emerges –
Up and down Peg Powler’s plowing
Scowls around at other swimmers.
But she’ll do no harm, Peg Powler’s
Only here to swim this evening.
Up and down, her long hair trailing
Out behind her. She’s not hunting.
But some teenagers are splashing
Thrashing in the cooling water
Shrieking, chasing one another
Chasing, catching, maybe flirting
Peg keeps swimming, mouth set grimly:
Keeps her hands away from ankles
She’s not here to hunt for children
Even ones who should know better.
Not tonight, but maybe later.
Tom Juniper Poetry 