After my passing, Mike Daniels

After my passing

you might inherit
this moorland in all
its grim destiny
all grough and bitter
slough – peat hag
of sublime distress.

For an ounce or two of effort,
this escapade, this dynamic
might be yours –
tangled up with Williams Clough
or Jacobs Ladder by another route,
as choice might take it.

Or maybe even the ridge
from Mam Tor, by way
of Swine’s Back
above Edale Cross.
And in mist or sun,

through the blitz of rain,
each dim stone,
each slip-shouldered waterfall
can black-border your memory.

But wait a while –
these landscapes remain mine
for now at least.

______________
Mike Daniels