Each step I took was into a story ...

I came to the hundred and ninety nine steps - 

Below me was the narrow harbour -

Gulls flew above the tangle of streets -

Fishing boats waited for the tide - 

Dark ale was served in cobwebbed snugs -

A stone pier marked where the Demeter had come to rest - 

I glimpsed old names in the churchyard -

I remembered the arch made by the whale's jawbone - 

Each step I took was into a story -

25 February 2022

Whitby 

The turbaned poet ...

Wallace looked out the window at the sunlit garden - 

A turbaned poet had once stood where he stood - 

Rings with green stones had adorned her fingers -

Her long shadow was just out of sight - 

She and her brothers walked unseen in these high ceilinged rooms - 

23 February 2022

Woodend

Scarborough 

The piano ...

I looked in the window of The Curious Sea Circus -

I saw strange toys -

There was no sign of the artist with her wild red hair - 

The piano was still not for sale -

24.February 2022

Scarborough 

Raven Hall ...

The hotel was still on the edge of the world -

An avenue of leafless trees led to wind shaken walls -

Stone dogs gazed out at the sea - .

Logs smouldered in the library fireplace -

I walked in the late afternoon garden - 

Far below, seals changed their skins - 

I remembered my dream in the attic bedroom -

I woke to see the moon fill a starless sky -

25 February 2022

Raven Hall 

Ravenscar 

The Clock Tower Cafe was closing ...

The Clock Tower Cafe was closing - 

A brawny girl cleared away cups and plates -

Gentle pensioners would order scones here above the uncovered sands -

I'd sipped northern tea here - 

I'd read The Yorshire Post -

I'd buttoned up my tweed against the salty wind - 

Now I looked down at the bay - 

Surfers in dark wetsuits found joy in the waves -

Their hair was pearled with spray -

24 February 2022

The Clock Tower Cafe

Scarborough 

Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start ...

The words of the song drew me to the winding street - 

Crooked ways led to the harbour - 

Whitby jet gleamed on the necks of pale girls - 

A young man was singing - 

He sang as though he only sang for me -

25 February 2022

Whitby

A shape made of memory ...

The abbey was roofed with sky - 

Broken stone cast long shadows -

I remembered walking under that roof of air -

I remember the clouds above the sea -

I was becoming a shape made of memory - 

I would be a voice carried by the air - 

25 February 2022

Whitby