Poetry by Marilyn Francis
Overheard on Gyllingvase Beach
You said it never snows in Cornwall.
Just like that. No argument. Never snows.
Along Gyllingvase beach the sky turned black.
I heard a swimmer say, ‘the water’s andsome in December
it’s only when your teeth get cold it’s too late.’
At night we huddled in your sister’s single bed as ice spread
over the inside of the windows and our breath froze over the counterpane
and only the sea stirred in the polar bear darkness.
Previously published in Bugged
