I’VE GOT BEING WRONG DOWN TO AN ART

There was a time I wanted to live by the sea, the Mediterranean.  Instead I found a place where the locals rake the coal-dust from black beaches.

~

There was a time I wanted to find a nice girl.  Instead I married a promiscuous hellion.

There was a time I wanted a sensible car.  Instead I built an insane Caterham Seven.

There was a time I didn’t want to be a banker anymore.  Instead I became an alcoholic bum.

None of this is as bad as following the dawn tide onto a beach made black by coal.

Pieces of coal the size of grains of rice are left by longshore drift.

A layer of precious coal on sand, to be gathered painstakingly by hand.

It’s a hellish way to keep the home fires burning.

It’s a hellish difficult way to make a living.

~

words and picture by jack collier

JackCollier7@talktalk.net