Canal haiku

It’s sandal season— you bring back a blister from the canal.

Light from the water plays on the steel girders. A train’s screeching wheels.

Leading a crew of gnomes and potted plants, the jolly roger.

After the canal boat passes, the huge floating leaf reverses course.

Lowering their heads in threat again and again: geese with a single gosling.

Where the high-speed train will run, the drillers’ four-storey screw.

Behind the supermarket, the pigeons line up for crumbs of bread.

You can find her by the ding of bicyclists’ bells: the deaf dog.

Leaning out over the green water, he paints the boat green.

“End-of-life destination for cars”— and next door, stacks of tires.