LIFE'S A BEACH

For Mary-Ann, My M.E. Friend in California

Idling on idyllic isle,
Technicolour cocktail in hand,

Luminous blue of sea and sky,

Fine, white, mother-of-pearlised sand....

Suddenly, serenaded by seagulls,

Raucous squawking, peace shattered,

Very nearly seagull-splattered....

Flotsam, jetsam, debris, seaweed,

All along length of shoreline scattered.

Tumultuous thunder-clouds tarnish horizon,

Tainting painting of tropical view.

This is life as I now know it,

Things are fine - then the Fates blow it!

Nothing is constant, all is in flux.

Nothing in this life lasts for long.

Except the things that you'd much rather wouldn't,

But that's yet another melancholy song.

Bad times arrive from out of the blue,

And settle in, not wanting to go.

You must live in, and for, the moment,

Going slowly, and with the flow.

Make the most of all good times,

Try your hardest to persuade them to stay.

If all else fails, nail them down!

So that, when they arrive,

They can't slip away!

Ffion