28th May 2020

sunshiny morning

kicking off on the empty feeder

frustrated sparrow

© Rachel Green May 2020

Nana insists on deckchairs

so Da forks out three sixpences

for the lad with the enormous stack.

Three piece complicated folds

and a swath of striped cotton

this is before the hot, plastic substitutes

and Mum settles in the left-hand one

with Nana in the middle with her Woodbines

and a bottle of Mann's Stout

and Da on the right

with his flat cap and pipe.

I'm given a towel

and a bucket and spade

though this is Whitely Bay

and there's nothing but pebbles.

Within an hour I'm bored shitless

and turning red from the sun

though I've never seen a lobster.

Da won't give me a shilling

to rent the crabbing gear

and I'd rather walk the cliffs alone

but I'm only five

and I can't go out of sight

of Nana's eagle eyes.

© Rachel Green May 2020