Settling Into The Beach. Poem by Graham Leese

Foetal, white sand spreads
like salmon upstream, hoards
on the motorway. Anxiety and ample
cramps devour fish out of the waters
baking in sharpened sun,
this baby in a stretcher. Dark palms
persist as snakes coiled ‘round my wallet,
this baby bathes in tender vomit, a sludge
seeps; lungs unsatisfied, ankles grow brittle.
Sea breeze swarms, grain upon grain grates;
sand surfaces on skin, tension in the waiting room.
The great blue, silk soaked in sweat tears and sleep.
Waves rock skeletons to sleep, deck chair shakes.
Recovery’s lost on the sea bed now.
Bobbing to and fro.