Shadows
Shadows
Shin deep,
hands filled with flailing
suffocating fish
I see dark shadows
and call others to see.
Wrist to elbow long,
they dart skilfully,
herding their prey toward the shore
where then they must either turn into the waiting jaws
or die flipping
ever more slowly
on the rain damp
shore.
Mackerel
chasing whitebait.… Read more
Life saving
Life saving
A swoosh of feet
we run to the sea
untethered
whooping
shrieking,
tip-toeing,
running,
inhaling as tummies are circled in waves.
I reach and swim,
pulling through the water,
sand ridges guiding me.
A swoop of silver fish
ripple past me,
through me.
I surface to shout the others
to look see!
Look … Read more
The fisherman
The fisherman
Shivering from the sea,
I squat and watch
as the line trembles
then arches,
Tense.
His dog nuzzles my hands and I am grateful for the warmth
as we watch the line cut
an arc towards us.
Breaking the waves
Solid muscle thrashing,
Flipping,
Turning inwards on itself
tricked by the… Read more
Today I swam with a shoal of fish
Today I swam with a shoal of fish
along an English shore.
I paid no attention to the fishermen in their tiny tents
escaping who knows what
or maybe just content to gaze out to sea.
I arrived at dawn across the tiny, glistening circles of crunching stone
and sighed sadly to see the silver… Read more