No way to treat royalty

[Keith]

It used to move sugar and cotton,
hoofed tensioned tow ropes
now decorate cast iron moorings,
a road has severed its vein. -- I don't know where you mean specifically, but this speaks of dockyards all over the world -- my mind instantly goes to Glasgow but wherever it is, the image is heartbreaking
The keys have rusted in the locks,
over stocked with permitted perch, -- here in Australia it's illegal to throw perch back -- if you've caught too many, you have to kill them on the banks, bloody greedy vicious things they are, destroying all our natives
the colour of drowning water is brown, -- "drowning water" is outstanding
planners linear walks where nothing talks.

Nature’s graveyard is quiet today,
children play ahead, splat bricks
in silted beds, said 'look over there'
throw stones, point and stare.
Majestic pike strikes the surface,
his gills cannot fill in stagnant pools,
a broken bulldogs jaw, trawls for food.
I didn’t like its eye until it saw me. -- the children, like the fish, are dying in stagnant pools

The boys thought this would be a game
to try and maim something so precious,
so barely alive, yet evolved to survive.
One big brick did the trick, its great
silver body floated, bloated another -- punctuation could do with addressing in this stanza -- so many commas
sport of kings they’ve missed, little
shits, it’s no fucking way to fish. -- or to live

Painful, poignant stuff Keith.

Thanks for the help and your time here Leanne I will take it into the edit, thanks Keith

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Keith as ever I sing the praises of one of your poems (as your number one fan I can do this without risk of the wow lable).
You have nailed the image of our canal networks in the UK. Sad and poignant and a good character assasination of mindless yobs the world over. Very nicely done.
fav line: hoofed tensioned tow ropes and this line: the colour of drowning water is brown, as leanne said is outstanding. It is such a sad reminder of the grungy dangers to children and drunks the world over. AJ

Many thanks Aj, its horrible to watch once vibrant waters decaying this way and as already said the banks used to be filled with kids fishing and swimming now there's no one and the few kids that do go there don't know how to use it. thanks for your comments as ever very helpful. Best Keith