A BREAK IN THE JOURNEY
We were driving from Paris to Bordeaux one
particularly hot August, more than
forty years ago now, through the shimmering
grasslands and sun flowers of the Beauce,
and decided to break our journey
at Niort. We stayed near La Venise Verte,
tree-lined canals constructed from marshland,
Marais Poitevin, reclaimed from the sea.
We hired a barque – a flat-bottomed boat
like a punt – and made our ungainly way,
far from autoroutes and determined cities,
past pollarded alders and under arching
willows, out of the August sun, noisily
at first, then silently, to a place
of dappled light, of almost tangible
stillness, of water and leaves, and the soft
murmuring of oceans.
Clive
January 31, 2025The Marais Poitevin! Ah, yes! Another place Irene and I know. Such overlappings outside time… I remember that the walls of the channels are secured in part by the roots of ash trees, threatened now by ash die-back disease. It’s about a dozen years since we were last there. I wonder how they are today?
Steve Snelson
February 1, 2025This brought back wonderful memories of many happy summers spent in and around La Venise Verte. The English couple who owned the gîte in which we stayed also owned a barque. Our boys loved that they were taken beyond the tourist routes and able to explore the beauty of the area. Thank you for bringing these memories to mind.
Elise Oliver
February 3, 2025Gosh, Steve, how lovely to read your comment and that David’s poem triggered some happy, family memories of La Venise Verte! He manages to achieve this ‘de temps en temps’ – when I get the gist of what he’s saying!