river rea post card series

Under the Wholesale Markets

this waterway without guild
on principle
of non-association; unrestrained
diligent craftsmen,
muck women and men
entire families afloat
horse-drawn boats whose restless spirits
still haunt


brummagem a la Rea
junto al rio
Rea Rea mai
rea del fiume
quddus el Rea


waters nourished revolutions
of industry an’ independence
at home an’ abroad. Yet
still today Rea
flows uncelebrated


only concrete defined
waters edge
attended by devoted insects, flora
guarded above by the birds

Roi Kwabena

Birmingham's Sixth Poet Laureate

full post card series