‘A Town Without a River’ by Peter Donnelly Once a politician thought it had a beach,perhaps because their conference was there,in old times a watering place. You can still bathe at the Turkish Baths,see ducks in the pond in the Valley Gardens,hear the ripple of tiny waterfalls along the Elgar walk. No longer may youdrink water at the Pump Roomthat tastes as salty as the sea, to be polite. I’d like to have asked them the name of the riverthey thought ran through the town, or if theyspelt it Harrowgate. Good questions for an MP. Meet the Poet! Peter J Donnelly lives in York where he works as a hospital secretary. He has a degree in English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Wales, Lampeter. His poetry has been published in various magazines and anthologies including Dreich, Black Nore Review, High Window, Southlight and Lothlorien. He was awarded second prize in the Ripon Poetry Festival Competition in 2021 and was a joint runner up in the Buzzwords Open Poetry Competition in 2020. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Like this:Like Loading... Published by fragmentedvoices A small, independent press based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, and Prague, the Czech Republic View all posts by fragmentedvoices