Thurrock Walks

2 | The Hope

I curl around, gathering tributaries.

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The Hope

I can feel ships sailing on my body.
I cannot wait to take down boats.
I can sway and you cannot.
I have things you have not got.

I carry ships. I bet you can't.
I curl around, gathering tributaries.
Hope flows into me.

I have got a blue effect.
I bet you don't.
If I smile, my teeth are shell-strewn beaches.
If I cry, my tears seep into your houses.

I feed you, carry you, quench your thirst.
And I can take you down, little boat.
But today I will not.
Hope flows within me.

From writing by students of Arthur Bugler Primary School

About This Story

The 'Hope' is name of the river Thames between Mucking and Stanford-Le-Hope. Each section of the Thames has its own name of historical origin but generally only used by mariners who use river navigation maps. The name 'Hope' may describe a safe anchorage. The Mucking Creek joins the Thames nearby, which in turn leads up into the 'Hassenbrooke' stream, which was tidal at one time almost up to the Stanford-Le-Hope road bridge, next to the railway station. Joseph Conrad, who lived for a while in Stanford-Le-Hope, describes the River Thames in two of his novels, Heart of Darkness and Mirror of the Sea. It was also the furthest point in the Thames that the Dutch Fleet penetrated in the naval raids of 1667.

Jon Catton

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