Beachcomber

Monday I found a boot -

Rust and salt leather.

I gave it back to the sea, to dance in.

Tuesday a spar of timber worth thirty bob.

Next winter

It will be a chair, a coffin, a bed.

Wednesday a half can of Swedish spirits.

I tilted my head.

The shore was cold with mermaids and angels.

Thursday I got nothing, seaweed,

A whale bone,

Wet feet and a loud cough.

Friday I held a seaman's skull,

Sand spilling from it

The way time is told on kirkyard stones.

Saturday a barrel of sodden oranges.

A Spanish ship

Was wrecked last month at The Kame.

Sunday, for fear of the elders,

I sit on my bum.

What's heaven? A sea chest with a thousand gold coins.