: poetry :

The Beachcomber

quietly, methodically he paces along
briefly pausing to ponder the shoreline
following the debris left by the high tide
you never quite know what he's searching for

quietly, methodically he paces along
stoping and bending he picks from the sand
something he's been looking for, like a long lost sister
but no, this time it's not the one as he throws it back

quietly, methodically he paces along
passing sunbathers and kids in sand castles
the thickly clothed hunched figure hardly sees
his eyes firmly fixed forward reading ths sand

Nick Bailey 2002