Sea Sonnet II

By Robin Ap Cynan

Still crane, prehensile, gaunt above the sea,
Perched there above the coldly granite dock,
Stance-changing in a dance upon the quay,
Container shifting block by building block,
Hydraulic jaws descending to the prey,
A praying mantis over-magnified,
Cargoes unloading, loading all the day,
Only to see the ship sail with the tide,
Freighting fresh cargoes to far foreign shores,
To tundra and to softer tropic seas.
All this is conjured as is loosed the hawse,
Departs the ship; the wind is in the trees,
Stray leaves and railway sounds are in the air-
Witnesses to the quayside ballet there.

RMapC, Holyhead 16 July 1982