So it was wading that did it –
let us learn to walk on two legs
when we had loads to carry
across the great rivers that watered our life
To lift what we hold precious
above the flood, to carry a-cross
to the other side - we need arms
free and strong
St Christopher carrying Jesus as child
weighed down with all our burdens
through and over the river
is an archetype then for upright man?

Tessa Ransford is a CHE fellow and former tutor. Her latest book of new and selected poems, Not Just Moonshine, is available from Luath Press, and her website is www.wisdomfield.com.