Yare Otter

First frost of the year
and the river is submerged in mist;
a blaze of sunlight
melting everything to dew.

Though here in the valley bottom,
ice crystals linger. Muffled up,
in hat and fleece
I’m jogging/ walking

past the swathes of spiders’ webs,
the chicane of furry cows,
their white breath
swirling and solid stance.

I’m nearing the end
of this small traverse
of river bank when I spy him.
Large and mud toned,

sprawling, on the opposite side.
I stop in disbelief
and hunker down.
He raises his head; face

visible now, paws – definitely him.
For precious seconds
lets me watch him, relaxed
before the dog comes:

a nearby splash, and he
is not to be persuaded
otherwise, slides
carefully, curling his way

down the slick mud shute
into smooth water.
Hesitates a moment,
to gain his bearings, and is gone.

Olivia Walwyn’s poems have appeared in a wide range of magazines and anthologies; most recently, Stand, Spelt, Cerasus and Acumen. She has a pamphlet, En route, (2018) and a collection Halcyon, (2019) published by Templar. Originally graduating with a First Class BA in English Literature and Philosophy from Durham University, she also gained an MA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of East Anglia. Olivia works as a Library and Information Assistant and lives in Norwich.