Crossing the River
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The river maps its way
towards the expectant sea,
new channels drawn
by the growth of light
as free birds wander and feed.
Anonymous fishermen knock
at the tide’s rising door,
accompanied by those travel-stained clouds
erased and drawn again
within memory.
Nomadic seasons pausing
to reflect the view of liberated water,
a natural movement
learning the dialect of each
fresh pattern and sharpened line.
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Coral
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A Medusa of red coral
sculptured and hardened
from the dance of seaweed,
part of the undercurrent’s salty legend.
The presence of fading rhythms,
a white requiem washed ashore
blanched by rods of sunlight.
This patient craft by tiny creatures –
antlers of staghorn, a maze of brain,
the polished black, the deep Angel Skin –
in a reverie of sea.
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Byron Beynon lives in Swansea, Wales. Collections include The Echoing Coastline (Agenda Editions) and Cuffs (Rack Press). His selected poems appeared in 2018 (Bilingual: English/Romanian – published by Bibliotecha Universalis/Collectiile/ Revistei “Orizont Literar Contemporan”, translations by Dr Monica Manolachi, University of Bucharest)
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North of Oxford 