Poetry competition 2007 – Over The Level, by Paul Francis

Second prize (18 years and over category)

Up on the shingle shelf
A boy clambers, clasping a piece of driftwood
Swishing aimlessly at the pebbles
Glancing back to watch
As the seagulls gather over the breakers in the distance

A stray shoelace from a trainer flaps in the breeze
Like seaweed tethered to a groyne
Waves retreat,
Foaming listlessly over the discarded cosmetic bottles
Shedding their flaking plastic promises
Like sunburned skin
And the frayed uneven lengths of rope and inky seaweed
Link together shells
Like a child’s necklace
Twisting in the water

A watery pink burst of light flares,
Sparking the sky briefly
Before darkening cloud draws down
And a soft silence eases over
As the late summer air stills
Over the Level.