I felt uncomfortable sat on the beach with you.
Everyone that surrounded us annoyed me in some way;
the man in the Union Jack swimming shorts
who would not stop doing Del Boy impressions,
the teenagers with a cricket bat
who made the whole beach their outfield,
everyone on it a key fielder.
The couple near us who spoke in a language
I had never heard before. He made her laugh so much
that they hadn't noticed the tide coming in,
about to soak their picnic hamper
and sandals.
I wasn't going to warn them.
Seeing them together reminded me of
that August we spent together
our first Summer as a couple.
We couldn't afford a holiday
so instead went outside
every evening of the month
to watch the sun set.
I remember telling you on the 31st
that we would never see colours like that again.
But I am sure I saw the red
in the foreign girl's lip gloss
the orange on the towel
she lay on with her boyfriend
and the pink in the cocktail
that they sipped through a straw.
