The Sea Has Yet to Advance Upon the Ramparts
Renaissance ~ Third Edition
Chapter One
Somewhere it is written
that in the new world
‘there shall be no sea anymore’
I beg to differ
Water is life
Water is abundance
and if we are to take at face value
Psalm 114,
water gushed out
where no water was
upon the smiting of the rock,
and the people were replenished
Chapter Two
How good to walk the beach
The sea air in my hair
How wonderful to see that
silver path set across a silver sea,
leading somewhere
I know not,
but with which
my imagination plays …
People at leisure
Children, excited toddlers
bouncing up and down,
Pets running wild,
Generations familial,
Intermingling and playing
Then … What’s this?
The most wonderful sight of all
besought my eye
on Crosby Beach,
This gorgeous July day …
A sandcastle being built!
Family!
Grandad[i] on knees
scooping out and shaping
towers and ramparts…
Grandson tasked to man
the outer defences,
Construct the moat
and yes… come on lad!
Construction with great gusto!
Quick Gramps!
The sea has yet
to advance upon the ramparts!
Outer defences are manned
The sea approaches …
Fall back… fall back!
Gramps commands
His heir hastily draws
a line in the sand,
feeding the water into a new moat
over which he has already
built a new town
It’s alright Gramps!
The people are safe
We can let the castle go …
I’ve built their homes
on higher ground … …
Oh! Quick-Quick Grampykins
Give me the horses!!
I can put them in the stables
at the top of the hill …
Oh?
And what’s that young man?
Oh that's the trench Grampy
for ALL the people and horses
to make their way in safety
if they become … I think …
Mum calls them ‘refugees’?
Is Mum right, Grandad?
I mean, that’s a big word!
Aye Mum’s right for sure son
And well done too
All of six and yet you know
that most important word [ii]
Well, Mum said you
were a refugee Gramps
Grandad pauses to think
as the outer castle walls crumble
Well Ben, yes and no
Not me
It was your great grandma and great grandad
My mum and dad, if you like
Ben pauses, thinks, ponders
Were they in our castle Grandad?
The one that’s just gone?
Well something like that Ben
Let’s say, they were able to make use of your trench
… whispering … leaning into Ben’s ear
They stole away in the dead of night,
boarded the last train,
then the last ship,
Is that why I speak two languages?
Aye it is son
Mum says freedom is priceless
and not everyone has it
Opa pushed himself up
off his knees
laughed at the mess his trousers were in
tousled Ben’s thick, blond, sand-caked hair…
pondered again
then momentarily went to that most secret place
…and thought of darker times
Chapter Three
I like your town Ben
And how you’ve built it high up
and even given it another escape route...
Where does it lead to?
Oh come on Gramps, silly billy…
to the Queen of course!
I don’t know!!
I think we’d better go and get you
a cup of tea!!!
Mum says you know the Queen…
I think Mum calls it the Queen’s Commission…
Opa quietly straightened up
smiled
giggled
Well, something like that Ben
but ‘mum’s the word hey?’
Oh yes Grampy! …
… …
Another long ponder
Can I tell you something Grandy?
Aye young man, you may
(easy up off his knees)
What pearl of wisdom
dost thou now enjoin upon me?
Hehe Grandad wow!
You too know Shakespeare!
Well it’s this
But God’s honour okay?
Aye lad God’s honour it is
Shoot…
Mummy loves you Grampy
Say’s you’re something really right special
…beaming smile…
the picture of his daughter
caught on the same beach,
frozen in time,
another dimension,
a quarter century earlier
the image of Ben, now
The azure blue over New Brighton
The Dome
The Water Tower
The Peninsula
to the left,
The towers of Liverpool
The Royal Liver
The Three Graces
The Wind Farms on the Port
and out to sea
It’s in moments such as these
that Civilisation is assured
Ken pondered
Chapter Four
Darkness dares to threaten Light
but light overcomes darkness
It is so
It cannot be otherwise
Chapter Five
Opa looked back
Hey Ben, look!
The sea's reached
the outer moat of your town
but it’s now receding
The people in your town are rejoicing Ben[iii]
You’ve assured their freedom
Wow that’s wicked Grampy
Say, can I have a
double ninety-nine
ice-cream then?
You can indeed son
So long as mum’s the word
that I’m having two mugs of tea
I’ve earned them!
Deal?
Deal!
High Five?
High Five!
Race you Grampy[iv]
Written on the spot on July 6, 2015 on Liverpoool Crosby Beach
while observing the construction of this sandacastle
~ this is just a part of the original ~
that I managed to snap
when they’d toddled off for a well-earned
double-mug-of-tea
on condition that Ben had a double 99 ice-cream!!
[i] RWM
[ii] My First Gold Star, aged 5, at Romsn Rpad Infants School as the only one who knew the answer - ‘they’re called refugees Miss’. Well done Ken. That’s a Gold Star!
[iii] JMM, FTM, SFM and Ben Schneeweiß
[iv] https://soundcloud.com/ian-bradley-marshall/the-sea-has-yet-to-advance
[v] Opa ~ Grandfather (German)
Kenneth Thomas Webb
Liverpool
August 4, 2021
All Rights Reserved
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Das Vereinigte Königreich
United Kingdom - Germany - Austria - Australia - New Zealand - Canada - USA
© Kenneth Thomas Webb 2021
One of the Fifteen Founding Members of Leaders Lodge
The original inspration for this Poem
Ken Webb is a writer and proofreader. His website, kennwebb.com, showcases his work as a writer, blogger and podcaster, resting on his successive careers as a police officer, progressing to a junior lawyer in succession and trusts as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, a retired officer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and latterly, for three years, the owner and editor of two lifestyle magazines in Liverpool.
He also just handed over a successful two year chairmanship in Gloucestershire with Cheltenham Regency Probus.
Pandemic aside, he spends his time equally between his city, Liverpool, and the county of his birth, Gloucestershire.
In this fast-paced present age, proof-reading is essential. And this skill also occasionally leads to copy-editing writers’ manuscripts for submission to publishers and also student and post graduate dissertations.
