Saltburn

A glimpse of the sea!

I race down to stand wide-eyed

on Saltburn Beach,

a child again.

The sea’s unfurling along its edges,

frothing and hissing over the sand.

Waves retreating, gathering, breaking,

over and over

while sunlight strikes shifting sand crystals.

I draw it greedily into my cells.

Licking the salt on my lips,

with cheeks stinging and nail beds burning in the wind.

Every nerve alight, alive, then calm.

Breathing with the gulls, the cliffs, the sea.

Loosening into the very air,

I stay a while

until the light greys and cold starts to settle.

I turn reluctantly

and carry it home.