This Must Be One Polluted Waterway Poem by Francis Duggan

About the Ganges so much I have read
It's the most polluted river it's been said
But I can't comment on something I've not seen
For to India in South Asia I've not been

Polluted rivers are no longer rare
And we breathe in pollution when we breathe the air
And we drink pollution from river and stream
And clean air and water of the past 'twould seem.

Since I have not seen the Ganges I cannot compare
It to streams and rivers I have seen elsewhere
But going by those who know 'sight unseen' one might say
This must be one polluted Waterway.

Still life goes on and wild creatures mate and breed
And duck and moorhen on the river feed
And cormorant hangs her wet wings out to dry
On Ganges bank neath India's sunny sky.

Through hot and humid Northern India to the sea
The mighty Ganges flows eternally
And many who have been to India say
That it's the most polluted Waterway