BENCH LOOKING OUT TO SEA ON THE KENT COAST
The sun rises
Nature’s light show plays out before me
Daylight reveals highways of the sea glistening on the horizon
Dover to Calais ferries dart between the wake of mammoth container ships
Walkers processionally pass by on their way to The Cliffs
Few pay me attention
An elderly woman with a walking stick stops
She leans on the convenient railings
Bidding me “good morning”
I agree that it is indeed an extremely good morning
She seems pleased with my confirmation of her certainty
The need for sustenance calls me
Midday taking my leave from the bench for a little while
A seagull takes my place as sentinel, in my absence
Returning early evening
The seagull sentinel is gone
He must have found other adventures more enticing
I take over his post, there on the bench
My watch now
A canoeist passes by protectively close to shore
The bright red of his life-jacket keeping him safe
As he paddles against the tide
To disappear out of sight around the headland
The sun sets behind me
As darkness slowly rises across the water
The sudden silence
Reaching outwards with all my senses
I see the lights of ships
Mirrored by the lights of distant silhouetted homes of Deal
One bench looking out to sea on the Kent Coast
Time-shared with a seagull
There is magic in the air
In the seascape
For those remaining still long enough to feel it
