one step-width water
of linked stones
trills in the stones
glides in the trills
eels in the glides
in each eel a fingerwidth of sea

Alice Oswald – Dart

Julie makes swift progress for the waters of the lake are calm and she no longer has to battle upstream against the flow of the river. But the river is still there, deep below the surface it weaves its way south to north along the length of the lake, a golden thread of pure mountain water.

The waters of the River Dee, Afon Dyfrdwy in Welsh, flow through Llyn Tegid. According to legend they do mix with the waters of the lake: they are a ‘golden thread’ forever flowing through the cold depths of the lake and never mingling. Thus in mythology the lake represents the flood, the deluge drowning the whole world, whereas the golden thread is the stream of life, clinging on and emerging unscathed.

Excerpt from Swimming Against the Stream, ©Bobby Seal
Picture of River Dee ©Bobby Seal