Set in the Silver Sea

Cameron chooses fish on a slab
grey, black, blue
mackerel, halibut, eels or dab?
The rain, the oil, and the sea

The trawlers wait at Peterhead quay
grey, black, blue
freezers burning barrels a day
the rain, the oil, and the sea

Under the earth the power lies
grey, black, blue
Cui bono? A word to the wise
the rain, the oil, and the sea.

Habitat Loss

Was it lost, or never found,
the thousand-flowered tapestry
the public good, the common ground?

The bay where herring queens were crowned
the quiet sky, the fruitful sea
was it lost, or never found?

Small city squares to stroll around,
accidental, open, free
a public good, a common ground.

Translucence of a glass-dark pond
amphibian diversity
was it lost, or just not found?

A wood where chanterelles abound
that’s not some shooter’s property,
a public good, a common ground.

A stranger welcomed to the round
untallied generosity
was it lost, or never found
the public good, the common ground?

Where is Theseus when you need him?

It’s the same wherever you go
The fascias in sea-side blue,
the silk-roped queue to pay in.
It is a façade. There is no safe in the vault
to guard your cash, only a portal
to the Minotaur, who’ll seize your savings for his play
with the bulls of Hang Seng, Nasdaq and Nikkei.

These usurers offer no interest, nothing for you,
no trail through the labyrinth;
Ariadne’s got better things to do.

Sarah Watkinson recently received a creative writing diploma following a career as an academic scientist. Her poetry has appeared online and in magazines. She was highly commended by George Szirtes in last year's Norwich Writers' Circle Open Poetry Competition, and her poem Oxford Canal was selected by Jo Bell for Waterlines.

Well Versed is edited by Jody Porter – wveditor@gmail.com
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