Completely safe in Colwyn Bay
We know a man, you see – well, we don’t
know him, but we’re certain he was nowhere
in the vicinity on that January night
when the Victorian pier finally came undone,
collapsed, gave up its ghosts. We do not
speculate – aloud – on those not spotted
round town since: the buttock-dented empty barstool,
granny’s wedding ring in Cash Converters, unclaimed.
The outbound tide at dusk waltzes an unlaced left trainer,
a fag packet shedding its last sodden few to the wash.
These are the things not mentioned,
hushed by the gulls’ leering swoops.
We know a man who was definitely elsewhere.
Holly Magill has had poetry in various magazines and anthologies. She is co-editor at Atrium – www.atriumpoetry.com. Her first pamphlet is forthcoming in 2018 from Indigo Dreams Publishing.