Uphill, January 29th 2026

Uphill, January 29th 2026

St Nicholas church has

stood here for centuries

staring out over the sea,

standing high on a hill,

liminal limestone walls.

Brackish waters in winter

look bleak in freezing rain,

gulls patrol slate-grey skies

in search of elusive prey,

their cries pierce my soul.

Passing thoughts turn to life,

ubiquitous yet ephemeral

when measured over time,

past struggles like driftwood,

now obsolete and forgotten.

Last year frayed, fell to Earth,

falling like the dying embers

of a Catherine Wheel on the

banks of the River Thames,

Auld Lang Syne fading away.

But in this place I move on,

anchored by the inevitability

of gravid circulatory tides

wiping away our footprints

 in the stone-washed sand.

If I wait for long enough to

see the sun set in the west,

subsiding over Penarth bay,

a January day will fall into

the waiting arms of the night.

And I can go home once more.

*Pic is my own