‘The Estuary’: A Poem by Jeff Eardley

The Estuary

—at the “seaside” resort of Southport, England,
where the sea is always miles away

I must have been just nine or ten,
I really can’t remember when
We’d travelled from our smoky town,
Upon the beach, we settled down,

Beside the rolling estuary,
We seldom caught a glimpse of sea.
We ran to seek it every day,
It seemed a million miles away.

Now three score years have come and gone,
Again, I sit beneath the sun.
Remembering, that kid was me,
I gaze in vain, but still can’t see.

The tide rolls in, the ebb and flow,
Oh, where did all those decades go.
Toward the far horizon’s hills,
The far-off sea eludes me still.

Jeff Eardley lives in the heart of England near to the Peak District National Park and is a local musician playing guitar, mandolin and piano steeped in the music of America, including the likes of Ry Cooder, Paul Simon, and particularly Hank Williams.