'RAIN ON THE BEACH': A POEM ABOUT MAWGAN PORTH...

Rain On the Beach

Needed to get away.

Partial concern only though.

But that coastal rain was

Too uncomfortable to bear.

Fine, vertical, shower-like,

It warmed my sea-soaked body

As I scrambled belongings together

And dad rose from a chair.

He stumbled, twisted

And inexplicably tumbled

But that coastal rain soon

 Forced him into the beach-tent,

Lodged between my daughters.

He paused, motionless,

Curled on all-fours,

Stubborn, arched, his back bent.

I shrouded him in waterproof,

Zipped it, knotted the hood

But that coastal rain had

Worsened as he stood waiting,

Clutching a football under one arm.

I secured the windbreak,

Sand sticking like barnacles,

The torrent saturating.

I dismantled the tent, 

Wet sand weighing it down

But that coastal rain soon

Cooled me off and T-shirt stuck

To my skin as I folded,

Rolled and squeezed the tent 

Tightly into its bag with sundries

And I led father into the evacuation ruck.

Patiently we trudged in unrelenting sand,

Across store-frontages and soaking concrete

But that coastal rain then

Became a deluge and punished us,

As we trod tarmac.

Cars passed, occupants smug,

Distance never shortening,

Seemingly. No stress, little fuss…

Pete Ray

12th August 2004

My dad on the beach.