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"All at sea", "On the breeze", and "Longshore drift" by Katy Naylor

All at sea



High up in the crow's nest


foam corkscrews below



One more minute


and the waters will split


the great snake's tail slice through


with a splintering shriek


dash the ship into so many matchsticks



The music's loud, the conversation light


the swoop and the swirl of it


a passing tray of canapes



It comes in waves


pitch and roll


back to the wall


another glass of wine and I'll have the courage to speak



If I can just breathe


keep to my post


hold steady against the juddering swell


maybe I can beat it back


keep my head above water



Under my heel I can feel the shift


my lips are cracked with salt




On the breeze



It's cold up here

the air is thin


I can see the swallows, below me now


the brindled shadows the clouds


cast over bright harvest ripe fields



I can see the ring of birch trees


sun through green leaves


the old house


the rope swing slung over the bough in the yard


frayed almost right through


but holding out


- just



I close my eyes and wonder


could I have stopped the rot?



the subtle stiffening seeping into us


with each tick of the grandfather clock


lonely in a dust encrusted corner



could I have pricked the silence with the right words


so that it burst and let out its poison?



before we brought the whole thing


toppling down



with no last minute reprieve


no hole in the eaves perfectly placed to miss


move away with a light step and a double blink



the jinx heavy upon our heads


until


quite suddenly - with a soap bubble pop!


you granted me this


choked release


the final drop



Too late


to go back over it now


it's drifting


with each fresh breath of the wind



I float


a little further


away



Longshore drift



The sea is a casino and the tides play the dealer


inch by inch, wave by wave


seaweed, stones, unwary creatures


shuffled and slotted by sleight of hand further along the coast



Do they ever open an eye, mouth, shell


hold out a wary claw or tentacle


wondering how they got here


so far from the still rockpools of home?



You got here before me


phone face down on the table


you're wearing someone else's smile


I scan the horizon for a familiar landmark


my vision pitching


alien sands beneath my feet


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