A cockney born and bred,
as a child, how I longed
for summer. The call of the sea
leaving me breathless – gasping
for air and the needing to know
if there was a sky up there
beyond high rise council flats
and factory stacks...Yearning
to return, like a migratory bird.
Till the boarding of a train
on our yearly pilgrimage
to Broadstairs. The asking
Mum and Dad if we were
‘in the country now’; cow-pat
spotting with my sister. How much
bluer and bigger the sky was
and how I’d get smuts in my eye
if I sat too close to the window
going through a tunnel...
and how I cringed deep inside
when Mum spat on her hanky –
rubbed my nose, cheek or chin...
and lost track of the times
I was scolded for asking,
“Are we there yet?”
And how I felt as I’d stand
on the corrugated sand
with foam frothing
white around my ankles;
on the brink of diving in.
Elated, excited, but
at the same time, terrified.
Exactly like you – that day,
that summer, when I saw
you feel it too; going back,
for what you knew would be
the last time. Your blue eyes,
gray with pain, scanning
the horizon. Hearing
the seagulls cry. Looking
for a ship that never came.
Comments
celticman | May 28, 2010 - 16:35
evocative. I feel I'm almost there.
Silver Spun Sand | May 28, 2010 - 18:11
Thank you so much, for that. Much appreciated;-)
Tina
Beeme | May 28, 2010 - 19:51
I agree with Celticman this is so evocative. Well done on the cherry- richly deserved in my opinion.
Beeme xx
Silver Spun Sand | May 28, 2010 - 21:48
Beeme - my thanks to you. This poem means a lot to me, as you can imagine, and your words make it just that bit more special;-)
Tina xxx
lenchenelf | May 28, 2010 - 22:45
A gentle and expert balance of elmements atb Lena xx
Silver Spun Sand | May 28, 2010 - 23:54
Thank you;-)
Tina
kheldar | May 29, 2010 - 00:34
Once again you seemlessly combine the happy with the sad. Beautiful.
Kheldar xx :--)
Silver Spun Sand | May 29, 2010 - 09:01
How lovely to hear from you;-)
Thank you so much for your words. I really do appreciate them.
Tina xx
MistakenMagic | June 1, 2010 - 18:32
You create such an atmosphere here, Tina. Love these lines:
'Yearning
to return, like a migratory bird.'
and
'How much
bluer and bigger the sky was
and how I’d get smuts in my eye
if I sat too close to the window
going through a tunnel...'
Well done on another well-earned cherry ;)
Magic xxx
Silver Spun Sand | June 1, 2010 - 19:02
Really pleased you read this one, Magic. Writing it certainly took me back and I could smell smokey Victoria Station and feel the excitement of rushing along the platform to find an empty compartment on the train.
I also remembered sitting on my living room floor, counting all the pennies from my piggy-bank to take with me for the slot-machines and donkey rides etc. Times change, I know, but people stay the same and that's the lovely thing about it all.
Glad I was able to evoke some of this atmosphere for you and thanks for telling me;-)
Tina xxx