Norfolk Paddle Songs

My paddle sings a song of gnarly bankside roots,
of snagging water lilies and bulrushes
of gurgling, drips and splashes.

My paddle sings a song of stately swans,
of graceful grebes and other waterfowl,
of agile otters and shy water voles.

My paddle sings a song of riverside pubs,
of cottages, farms and windmills,
of flat landscapes and a dearth of hills.

My paddle sings a song of wherry men,
of day trippers and boating holidays,
a silty tide and smooth Norfolk skies.

My paddle sings, and it sings to me
of a place between rivers, Broads and sea.

Kim M. Russell, 30th September 2025

For this week’s Tuesday Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub we are dipping our poetic paddles with a guest host, Truedessa from TrueWanderings. She says that she has taken the theme for her challenge from a book of poetry by Emily Pauline Johnson, entitled Flint and Feather, and a poem she particularly enjoys: ’The Song My Paddle Sings’.   Truedessa invites us to travel around the river bend, listening for the songs that our paddles sing.  She asks that we use the title ‘The Song My Paddle Sings’ as a springboard for our poems, which may be a seasonal poem or about canoeing or kayaking.

A note for those of you not living in the United Kingdom: The Broads (also known as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms ‘Norfolk Broads’ and ‘Suffolk Broads’ are used to identify specific areas within the two counties, the whole area is referred to as the Norfolk Broads.

46 thoughts on “Norfolk Paddle Songs”

  2. Oh, I love the song your paddle sings. I have paddled through some water lilies before. I especially like it when swans are nearby. The photos compliment your song beautifully.

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  12. Your paddle sings multiples of songs … each of them a story of the wonder that surrounds you. A breathtaking panorama. I spent time in Suffolk decades ago, up into a wee bit of Norfolk. I would love to travel back.

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