We step out of the car into a wind whipped in from the arctic
Unconstrained by obstacle
And walk the soft sand towards the music of the sea.
Passing the strandline of shells left by the high spring tide
Grateful when feet find the firm sand squeezed by the kettledrum roll
Of the wonderful waves
As they spit out sparkling pebbles
Left in the sunlight like gifts from God

Inside our hats and scarves we are alone in inner space
Apart from the occasional sentence shouted into the salt air
To bring the kids away from a wave that reaches further towards
The tops of wellies

Beaches, I think, were made for contemplation
Just the place for poets
So I lift my watering eyes to the wind
And stand before a sea going out for ever
But also keeping on coming in
Offering to all the far horizon
And the longing for landfall
At the mercy of a friendly wind
And the fall of the tide

I watch the waves in the distance, hoping for a glimpse of a sea monster
And ponder all that life down deep
All those colours invisible in indigo darkness
Alive in creations overflow
And it is all too big
Unfathomable

Cuttlefish
Alien flashing transparency
Reduced somehow to parrot food
In another world

Whale
So big that movement seems tectonic
Impossible

So with faces numb
But senses alive
We walk on towards the reward
Of the seaside town
Offering some out of season hospitality
To poets and all