Morecambe and Wiser #poetry

A palate of clouds and light over the bay
but I’m glad I took you anyway
I hadn’t been for such a long time
and the way the sun played on the sands: sublime
the stone jetty with its tongue-twisters,
the unpretentious tea shop where we sheltered
then when we came out, how the grey clouds parted
to reveal the hills!
Glory days! And the Circus was in town,
right on the spot where I’d played in the pool
as a child. Now, childhood and the pool long gone
outside the tent, the families formed a queue
you asked, ‘Why don’t we go?’ and I could find
no reasonable answer.
Inside the Big Top, I’m a child again
watching the artists flying the trapeze
slicing the air with acrobatic ease,
and I’d like to do the same with words:
this is how it feels to be free
with no risk of breaking my neck, except
perhaps, metaphorically.
Next, we found the Eric Morecambe statue
where we struck a pose:
there’s something about the gesture and the day
which implores such gay abandon from us
and I sent you a postcard about all of this
but it hasn’t reached you yet
so just in case you never get it
you can have these words instead:
I am older and I’m wiser now,
the former, by one day
the latter, it seems, immeasurably
through simple lessons gifted to me by
my children.

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A poem about a day trip to Morecambe

A seaside town in Lancashire, and birthplace of Eric Morecambe (one half of the comedy duo, Morecambe and Wise), Morecambe has perhaps seen better days. But I couldn’t have wished for a day much better than this!

I will be linking up to dVerse, where tonight is Open Link Night Live: from 3pm ET, you can link up any poem, and for the first hour you can join us live to read your poem and listen to others. Hope to see you there…

Bring me sunshine!


79 thoughts on “Morecambe and Wiser #poetry

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      1. No, Frontierland was further on near the West End. This was as you come in from Hest Bank. frontierland was brilliant. My kids have spent many a happy hour there. Blobbyland was a rip-off though. It didn’t last long.

      2. Yeah, Frontierland was great – owned by the same family as Blackpool Pleasure Beach but I think they decided to pump all their money into that!

  1. I’ve never heard of Morecambe or Eric Morecambe. I saw this photo when you posted it on IG, and it’s wonderful. You can tell it’s from a fun day. Your words are so descriptive.

      1. I remember going to a visiting circus here in Trinidad and was fascinated by the elephant above everthing else

        Enjoyed hearing your poem read

        Much💚love

  2. What a lovely day you have described here, Ingrid, and things coming full circle. The musings of the wiser self. I very much enjoyed this 🙂

  3. “lessons gifted to us by our children”–love it. I remember after watching Hugh Laurie all the Seasons on HOUSE, it was a shock to find out that Laurie is part of a comedy duo in UK as well. Miss me some Circus.

  4. Ingrid I feel nostalgia for the place and time you describe and was not even there!…. the unpretentious tea shop where we sheltered…we all have that wonderful sheltered memory…!

  5. It feels wonderful to read about your adventure, it feels so wholesome and innocent and I love the smiles on the accompanying photograph.

  6. I absolutely love, love this! Especially; ” I’m a child again watching the artists flying the trapeze slicing the air with acrobatic ease, and I’d like to do the same with words: this is how it feels to be free.” It was a joy to hear you read this tonight 💝💝

  7. Ingrid, this poem is so beautiful and joyful! It touched my heart! You are creating wonderful memories with your children and learning from each other. Childhood passes quickly, but the memories remain! <3

  8. Wonderful description of a day at the seaside, Ingrid. I always think good poems are all about tone and you hit it perfectly here. I also remember Morecambe and Wise , I was a big fan as a kid! JIM

  9. Reminds me of going to the circus as a child, and the ending is so true. Wisdom does come though to parents from children. Great poem, Ingrid.

  10. This was a lovely moment captured in words as they played across the page. I think we all need to remember what it feels like to be a child again. Remembering what it feels like to be free…

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