OH I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE…

For Alison and for Alfie

We ran to the sea together, 

You holding my hand, to tell the waves to go back.

And we kicked them, laughed and splashed, 

And we never cared

That the waves just kept coming.

But it’s you who’ve gone back, my sister,

And a lifetime on

I’m playing our game with my grandson,

And he holds my hand, and we kick the waves and splash, 

And he doesn’t care

That the waves just keep coming.         

And we laugh again,

Though the laugh sticks in my throat,

And the saltwater stings in my eyes

And I know now,

Like you,

That the waves aren’t playing,

And the sea just keeps coming.