1209

A thousand years ago this twilit scene

Would have stood devoid of points of light

Strung out on the distant coastal path

Until they disappeared far out of sight

And pools left by the tide would sit bereft

Of lighters or Thames barges, waiting for

The sea pulse to return, to float them back

Into the swell they gently road before.

But now the Cliffs Pavilion flashes out

Its neon signs and windows blaze towards

The southern shore, where headlights in the mist

Cut up the deepening night to leave it raw.

Brian Hick September 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 13.8.24