"Sea View"

　

I am so glad
I am from South London
Rather than the East End.
For me, the seaside
Is Margate, Broadstairs
Brighton and Hove.
The pretence of childhood
When you could look
Beyond the horizon
And imagine Calais
Or Boulogne-sur-Mer,
Sounding so dreamily exotic.
More so than modern Sangatte.
When all you lot
From over the water
That is Old Father Thames
Had to go for your
Candy floss, fish and chips
Penny arcades & Kiss Me Quick hats
Was Southend! Oh dear!
All you could peer at
From your boring too long pier
That you were too lazy to stroll along
So you built a raliway on it
Was Canvey Island!
Oil refinery central
Beauty in the eye of the gas holder.
At least we saw nothing
And could use our imagination.

Dulwich Poet 5th July 2013

(It was quite warm today, and I got thinking of the seaside, and how the better resorts are to the south of London, not to the east.)