POLPERRO: 'THE CORMORANT AND THE RED TUB'...

The Cormorant and the Red Tub

A withdrawing tide had drained

Its wash from the quay, leaving weed and slime

For gulls to mull and squabble over in its wake;

Land stream bobbled around fussing mallards

In a quite silent harbour’s winter cavity…

And a cormorant squatted upon a breakwater,

Sensing perhaps the human desertion:

Shedding its remoteness and habitual proclivity...

A barren season had strained

The life from the village, leaving silence and grime

For winds to squall and trouble over for pity’s sake;

Tired facades grappled above chinking boatyard,

In once quaint Polperro’s January inactivity…

And a red tub squatted in muddy water,

Representing perhaps, the lost traditions:

Lamenting the changes and their inevitability... 

Pete Ray

Polperro, winter 2013, minus the trinkets, the raucous noise, the chips, the pasties and the burgers, as well as the crowds. 

It seemed like they had been sucked from the harbour, like the sea. 

A cormorant basked so close to the harbour arm, fearlessly and a bright red boat lit up an otherwise tired quay, below pallid buildings. 

Even the Shell House had lost its allure...