SEAGULLS CIRCLING... (My new poem inspired by Emma Haworth's painting...)

 Seagulls Circling…

(Inspired by Emma Haworth’s 2022 painting…)

It’s all there. The waves, the calling, the thrill and the need

For the seaside. The attractions, the activities, the hustle

In the shallows, the fought for plots on the beach, the bustle,

The variety, the conjugality and one’s self awareness somehow freed.

And gulls circle above, in an aerial display, sleek, free and wondrous…

It’s all there in the beach clothing, no skin visible or sore,  

Beneath blue-grey cloud patterned like honeycomb, 

With a lemon curl spotlighting a grey naval vessel offshore,

As a fishing boat hauls in its nets through a rush of sea foam.

And an encircling flock of gulls scavenges for fish, selfishly raucous…

Bodyboarders and surfboarders in wetsuits proliferate, 

Rocks lurk black upon the shoreline for kids to investigate;

Bathers shiver whilst being buffeted by the cold ocean

Whilst the sand is a congestion of folks with no dogs, constantly in motion…

It was all there too when I spent days on beaches in bays:

The noise, bats and balls, no dogs, the sand between my toes;

The smell of slick cream to block the sun’s harmful rays,

The bodyboard rides, games of cricket and the Punch and Judy shows.

And gulls circled above then too, of packed lunches clearly conscious…

  Pete Ray…

2nd January 2026…

The painting encapsulates my days on beaches when my kids were young.

No wetsuit, just swimwear and a sore chest from lying on my wooden bodyboard, before the newer, lighter versions became available.

Playing with bats and balls, no dogs about to interfere, also family cricket played on hard, flat sand, games of football too.

The sound of mallets hammering windshields into the sand, that first hellish, chilling wave which took the wind out of me (though I tried to be cool about it) and then allowing the sun to dry me, lying on a towel, likely visibly shivering at first.

And sore shoulders, then after returning home, peeling the skin off… 

Anyway, I love the painting!