From Channel 4’s Dirty Business
By Owen Gallagher
When children came out of the water
and tested positive
for sewage
we complained to the guardians
of rivers and seas
when fish threw themselves
onto riverbanks
we wrote to Ministers
who wrote to water firms
who wrote to farmers
who wrote to…
when doctors told us our organs
and arteries
harboured micro-plastics
we were referred to a research programme
which had links
to water companies
notices continue to appear
as regular as sewage leaks
along riverbanks coastlines and piers:
‘Do Not Paddle or Swim Here!’
