THERE are no prams or excited children

Alighting on Barry Island station.

Just a few people stroll on the promenade

On this Thursday morning on the edge of fall.

Clouds are cracking like sea ice

And the impotent September sea snoozes

Mirror sand painted orange by the sky

As a solitary seagull flies on by.

There are tide-marks on Nell’s and Friar’s Point

And an elderly woman with a walking stick

Peers at the tranquil water

As the sun appears over the Somerset coast.

Today no army of cars snake

In an endless jam, frustrated families inside

But like a leaf in a fierce autumn storm

The summer clings on with the wind still warm.

And the sun breaks through over the Channel

Beams shine down with a celestial glow

But it’s peaceful here without the crowds

And not a trace of litter to be seen.

I walk over the famous sand

Then drink a cup of tea at good old Marco’s

And the pensioners begin to descend

As summer on the coast draws to an end.

Guy Fletcher

Pantmawr

Cardiff