30.14

Down what drain?

Pouring History down the River is not like pouring water down the drain 
The water down the drain vanishes; the history beaches itself downstream 
They poured the Isle of Dogs into the Thames and heaped it up on Mucking marshes  

To make way for a future Olympics they poured Stratford into the Lea 
It floated down by Silvertown and onwards to the sea.  
Everywhere along the way bits came ashore 
and put down new roots in Purfleet Marshes

Hitler tried to bury dogged islanders
under tons of rubble and under their own homes. 
They surfaced as a million bubbles 
on a river of liquid history floating downstream 
And were soaked up by the Tilbury marshes

It is a very absorbent mat is Thurrock
It soaks up people from London 
and the rubbish of those left behind
or came to replace those who left.