some days i long to take
a bucket and spade to
Bembridge beach to build
castles with my brother
in dampened sand
magnificent with turrets
crenellated walls, tall towers
always with a drawbridge
surrounded by a deep moat
when the only company was
an odd wasp or two competing
for jam in our sandwiches
or the sun’s rays freckling
my fair skin , burning my
exposed shoulders
i didn’t mind the creep
of the incoming tide as we watched
it send fingers of foam
ever nearer closer and closer
tickling our toes
until eventually our masterpieces
of medieval fantasy collapsed
into a sunken mess
under swirling salty water
forever gone