Translucent water glides
over green weeds where
sunlight and shadow play.
Iridescent blue damselflies
whirr in couples. A yellow papillon
flaps clumsily by. Dragonflies,
moths, butterflies, of many kinds
and colours, thread the summer air
above rushes, reeds and flowering
water flora.
The old bridge with its zig-zag
of passing places links the high castle
to the low village, and has done
for hundreds of years, a means of passage
for people, beasts and wagons,
rural freight.
Today it is a place for contemplation,
a place where you can stand
to view the scene
and taste the picturesque.
Into this idyll steps the villager
to gather a battered bucket
on weathered rope.
He leans down
and scoops from the river
to water his beans.
Note Brissac is a small village in the south of France, about 50 km inland from Montpellier.