This was Regent's Canal on Tuesday afternoon at 4pm

 Two roads diverged by London Zoo,

 Along the canal and the undergrowth

 Where I found out in Summer that raspberries grew.

 One up to the main road, so far as I knew.

 Or either one took you the same way as both.

 

 I headed uphill, for two metres or so,

 But the path didn't lead to the road. It just ran

 Parallel to the towpath two metres below,

 With a slightly more foresty vibe to it though,

 Of which, I admit, I'm a fan.

 The paving was cracked and the brambles were cute

 And the branches were dense, and it rose and it sank

 But the road was quite long, and if this did not suit,

 The smoother and wider, more sociable route

 Was still six feet away on the bank.

 

 "Desire paths" – or at least absence of grass –

 Had therefore been worn out at breaks in the fence,

 Perhaps by those finding the towpath too sparse,

 Perhaps to protest the conceptual farce

 Of crossroads that make no difference.