Whitstable festival

The warm body
         that durable fire
that we call life
         Along the sea shore
from Whitstable to Tankerton
         young families and groups of friends
playing on the pebble beach
         gazing out to sea
consuming
         what the sea gives back
cockles and rock oysters
         The sun warm on the face
just a light breeze
         enough to fill the white sails
music and laughter
         cementing the bonds
of community
         Sea shanties that hark back
to other times
         and to ways of life
long gone
         A pirate with a squawking parrot
is now an amusement
         almost a coastal cliché
An immense crowd
         but everything understated
all in good measure
         and in good taste
a well-tempered blend
         of humanity

John Lyons