GOING BACK TO PAR: A NEW POEM...

Going Back To Par…

Approaching the gap between dunes,

Wet umber sand, churned by shoes

And paws, gave way to a wide angle of ocean,

A low, afternoon winter sun glinting

Upon barely discernible waves, hinting

Encroachment with their rolling motion, 

Their intrusion though merely a ruse

Brought about by the moods of the moon…

It was a pleasant view straight out to sea,

An uninterrupted expanse

And to the left, a headland green,

Fields, a flock of sheep grazing:

Yet towards the right one could clearly see,

A smoking, industrial expanse,

A spoiling dock, a dull grey scene:

A China Clay factory, the landscape hazing…  

I had approached the marram upon those dunes,

Soft dry sand sticking to shoes

And scrambling, I looked upon an inviting ocean,

The morning summer sun glinting

Upon lively, irresistible waves, hinting

At bathing, fun and seaside emotion;

Their attraction though would prove to be a ruse,

A curse effected by the bad side of the moon…

It had been a decent panorama out to sea,

A vast ocean expanse

And to our left, headland fields green,

Probably containing sheep grazing:

Then too, I turned and saw to the right of me,

That stinking, steaming, industrial expanse,

That dismal, dispiriting, dull and dire scene:

The China Clay factory, the resort’s credibility hazing…  

Pete Ray

January 2019

Holidayed at Par Sands in a caravan when my kids were young.

Arriving at Par village was pretty dismal at 5am in the morning.

The kids wouldn’t sleep as I parked in a car-park and so we took a peep at the beach…

Over the sand dunes we climbed, to find a sandy beach, an inviting sea and, er, a China clay factory at the right end of it…

We didn’t spend our days there but drove down to Pentewan…