Somewhere there is a man on a beach who has dug himself a hole the length of him and just about the width. He lies back and watches for hours as the sky stares and the sun arcs over and the gulls wheel and squwark. Then he feels the cold on his toes. The sea runs up his legs into the warmth of his groin and armpits and his hair swirls in the first current. He breathes slowly. The next wave rolls over his face and for a moment he hears the sound. He feels calm. Sand whirls around his head. Then he is submerged. His vision blurs. The ocean fills him. He hears the chitter of fry in the shallows and the slow turn of turtles beyond and the deep lowing of great leviathans in the great dark abyss. He keeps his eyes open as he is filled with a briney dream.
Paddy Dobson
3rd November 2021