Roker Pier Poem by Paul Reed

You lay there, waiting for us
In the tranquil sun-sparkled water
Sleepy and embedded
In your stoney hauteur
Sunday morning spilling over you
In all of it's glory
Ice creams and coffee
And a chat and a story
or two:
Worn stones and pebbles
To be collected and prized
Remnants and debris
Which time has devised
Should lay on the beach;
A chocolate labrador
With close spaniel friend
Rusted balustrading
Reaching all the way to the end
Of the pier;
Steps chained off
Fishermen by their rods
On their folding canvas seats
Waiting patiently for a codling
Or two;
With bait tins and radios
Swopping earnest tales
Of harsher spumy days
And blistering gales;
A gentle lapping at your sides
Green seaweed bobbing in the foam
The harbour a temporary haven
An uneasy home;
Guardian of the 'cat and dog' steps
Memories draped along the coastline
Like Grandad Reed sat on the beach
On a long lost day, equally fine
In a black and white photograph
All of those Sundays ago
Before I was born
Before time washed slow
And smoothed the pebbles