The Barren Moorlands That Look Untouched

Georgina Watson

The barren moorland that look untouched Yet has been touched many times and for many years Now steeped with history Political and also personal

It’s on top of the Kinder Scout Plateau where I learned to navigate through moorland Following trodden paths through the heather Then following a single line drawn on the map

The wind against my face My boots sinking into the peat after a misplaced step The heather jewels the landscape among the rough grasses and soft peat It is something I can look at for days

I can get lost in it I have to be careful But still I go back Never alone

It draws me back Each time Deeper and deeper Further into the moorland and away from the trodden path

When I visit again I’ll sit there with my sister Watching the heather and grasses move with the wind They take the battering a lot better than me

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While I sit there still Trying to protect my warmth They move with the wind Allowing it to take its form Within them

Perhaps when I go again I’ll let the wind take its form within me too

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