Vacancies
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Originally Published: 27th January 2021
Image by gR (2021)
This Poem was placed 1st in the "No. 1297" Premier Poetry Contest sponsored by Brian Strand (Judged 27th April 2024)
the coastal train began to slow
as two tracks merged together
it stopped at the end of a single line
in freezing winter weather.
the arrow on the 'way out' sign
led me through a covered hall
but my ticket proving I had paid
was never checked at all.
I walked downhill towards the sea
and left behind the train
motionless at its terminus
and exposed to driving rain.
a small boutique was “CLOSING DOWN!!”
on its "FINAL BIG SALE" day
but despite saying “OPEN” on its door
it had long closed anyway.
I walked past moving spinning lights
that chased and made a noise
inside a place where grabbing cranes
missed grabbing plastic toys.
a gull perched on a wet sea wall
shrieked out its gull like sound
it never moved as I walked by
but stared and stood its ground.
the mist and sky were grey and one
and rain was teeming hard
as thick wet sheets of 'nothingness'
blanked out the promenade.
a man head bowed against the storm
and dog chasing its tail
were at the mercy on the beach
from rain that morphed to hail.
and all those places I once knew
'were on a different street'
with signs that stated "VACANCIES"
and "BEDROOMS ALL EN-SUITE"
I never found that B & B
recalled through misty eyes
and the park that I remember
over time had shrunk in size.
there were parts of town I recognized
and parts that I’d forgot
the cinema had disappeared
but the beach café had not.
with all its red formica tables
and warm and cosy light
the small café dispelled the cold
and put the rain to right.
there was beauty and some sadness too
jolting memories by the sea
I’d reached out to a time long gone..
..and it half reached back to me.
Copyright © Gary Radice | Year Posted 2021
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