Sky, Sea, Beach Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Sky sinks a shaft of light into the sea
No-one else on the beach
Apparently notices.

A tug-haired toddler pats a bucket of sand
Hammering home the obvious,
Upended like a duckling,
Pink polka dots on her tights,
Spread like cake mix
Dropped in a warm pan
Across her two small buttocks.

The firmament continues to descend.
A herring gull sails grimly through the clouds
Like a cargo boat from Orkney
Laden with sheep.

The sky continues to pour
A linn of light down from a Heavenly fissure.
Waves rush to my feet,
Thick with the silt of stars.

A greyhound, skin and bones,
Lollops onto the surf
Shaking the spray from its flanks
Like a shattered rainbow.