David Chadwick

A poem for the month - December

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Ozymandias Revisited

 

On the beach at Arawa Street lay

Half-buried in the soft grey sand

A set of broken steps tipped sideways

A solid marker for our loose-knit band

Each Saturday, walking home from the matinee

We crouched behind that edifice and

Made ready to repel invaders from the sea

Gripping wooden weapons, ready for the fight

Then afterwards, flag raised to proclaim victory

We stood triumphant atop its drunken flight

 

Today, nothing remains; those steps have gone

Victim of time’s relentless motion

Taken by the boundless ocean

That stretches beyond the distant horizon