Racing
flying
through
the tide
Buckets
and spades
and donkey ride
Candy floss
and the fun
of the fair
Wind runs its fingers
through tangled hair
Trickling sand between my toes
Freezing feet and
Burning nose.
Dancing
leaping
with the waves
Bone white cliffs
and
musty
caves
Hands in rock pools
wriggling
creatures
Pounding waves
carve out
cliffs’ features
Cry of the gulls
the screams of the others
kicking and
laughing
and splashing big brothers.
Dad his trousers
rolled to knee
Clenching his fag in his mouth
and in his arms, me!
My squeals as he wades out
to his hips
Glistening spray on my salty lips.
Home to sleep
Deep as the grave
Rocked
in the bosom
of the rolling
wave
Where
oh where
would my childhood be
Without those holidays
by
the sea?