The Quay, Exeter
I was not born by the water.
I was born in a packed out,built up, cholesterol filled
borough of London.
The nearest I came to water
that did not come from sky or taps
was when it was a sunny weekend,
and the mood struck Dad to pack up the car
with the blue and white ice box,
two half-finished lemonade bottles,
a bunch of bananas,
and some ham sandwiches,
before heading to Southend.
Currently, I am stood on a bridge
over the River Exe.
It is windy,
I lick my fingers,
tasting the scalped top of the sea.
I want to find a corner of it
to peel back like wallpaper
that has come unstuck.
The banks have overflown again,
last year it rained 652 millimetres.
Am I the only one who names each wave Noah?
Watching them break
like sins against an angel’s breast.
Aisling Fahey
