The beaches were awash and reeling
with sunburnt flesh, already peeling,
and tempers flared up in the sun
at polite requests to please move on,
oblivious to the growing shadow
of the Covid reaper. Do they not know
the way to measure social distance?
After several months of abstinence,
entitlement had taken the place
of sense and kindness, and they raced,
with unmasked, bare-faced cheek,
like lemmings for a break mid-week.
Come sundown, the multitude disbanded,
leaving beaches empty-handed,
their fast-food wrappings and plastic bags
bobbing among the waves like sea-hags,
while seagulls litter-picked half-eaten snacks
between natural piles of shells and sea wrack.
Kim M. Russell, 28th June 2020
A poem for earthweal open link weekend #26
writing in north norfolk 
This is brilliant Kim, and should be saved for posterity as a testimony to what it was like. I love your use of words and just the general way in which it is written.
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Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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You are so welcome
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12 tons of rubbish, I heard. With COVID such a silent traveller and humans collectively so wired for pleasure, your England in 14 days or so will start to smell like Florida. Sigh. O for those “sea-hags” working the “wrack”! – Brendan
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So far, our little village has not been invaded. The masses generally head for beaches. The Norfolk Broads is safe at the moment. But I fear for the worst.
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A poem – and photo – with great impact. Sigh. The plastic and litter we scatter carelessly and what it does to wildlife bothers me greatly.
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Me too, Sherry, and the fact that the kindness to others has gone by the wayside.
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Great sadness here, and great truth. Insanity seems to be winning out over any kind of real world sense. Love the pic you chose, too–both it and the poem say so much.
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I’d just started to trust people again – and then they prove that they don’t deserve it. They are just going insane, aren’t they?
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Yes, I’m afraid we have learned nothing. They interviewed people on the radio here whose one wish in life after 3 months inside was to go to the mall… that was what would make them feel alive again. (K)
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We were shocked at the queues outside Primark and other big stores. Why are people risking the virus for cheap clothes they won’t be able to wear if they get sick?
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And why would they keep buying that junk under any circumstances? A mystery.
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Some people just have empty lives and the only thing they can fill them is with junk. I’m so glad I have words.
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I love your poem. I saw the images of the people on British beaches andfound them perlexing. It’s winter here but sunny. It’s also school holidays. Today the roads are choked with people driving to the beaches even though it’s only 13 degrees celsius. It is my private conclusion large numbers of people have gone completely insane during lockdown.
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Thank you, Suzanne. I think the same thing, the world has gone mad.
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Glad you agree 🙂
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You say it well, as gross as it is.
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Thank you, Tiffany.
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