Dead Crabs

It was you who noticed them
and placed the first dead crab
(no larger than a ten pence coin)in my palm.
Its legs were tucked under its shell
and one pincer was missing.
The tide had left hundreds of them
scattered across the bay.

We took a token dozen to bury
and built them a cairn,
showing them the respect we felt
was due to small crabs,
before running back to the estate,
hands clutched around stolen Mars Bars,
the sea drying on the hems of our jeans.



*Ashley Fisher was born in Cumbria, England in 1976 and currently lives in East Yorkshire where he runs Fresh Ink Open Mic.