A Hopeman Song
Such a day as today – I could live every day
as I gather speed on the hill,-
my sweat making towels of clothes –
I conjure a ramp at the bottom to leap
into the cool waters,
but then,
I am getting old and so,
I brake and take a wall to sit.
There as the Sun casts a shimmering mirror;
the breeze cools my body as relaxation calms my
thoughts.
A whirring engine turns my head to
see an old man upon a mobility scooter,
he returns my greeting through a voice-box
croaked and well worn,
I watch and think of my years and pain
as he mounts the grass and wobbles his scooter
towards the harbour wall,
he stops.
I look upon the worn grass,
realizing his daily take,
he stops and there upon the grass
there may well have been a sign – ‘reserved’
for the lack of green and only soil.
‘I follow his gaze.’
A minute later, he was gone!
He only wanted to see the sea,
to ‘know’ it was still there,
he only wanted to hear her song!
Michael J Waite 19th June 2024 (Hopeman Harbour – Scotland).
