You didn’t like the sand between your toes
My mother laughs remembering the time
When Blackpool was a substitute for Mayo
My face in photo bitter as the brine
Lanky folk had nowhere else to go
Just seaside pleasure beach a week or two
They went in droves together from their work
Wakes Week there’d be a photo too
Communal existence was their life
Work beside each other every day
Then off by charabanc to get sea air
And photo in the local to show they’d been away
We didn’t join that annual procession
Mammy saved all year to get away
Off from Tyldesley station Mayo bound
To stay with cousins while they save the hay
I’m grateful to my mammy for so much
Those summer days embedded in my heart
No matter how confused I later felt
I knew that life was lovely from the start
I see today a lady from Dunbar
Lately dead is headed for repose
Faulmore beside the sea her final resting place
I hope she doesn’t get sand between her toes
Brian Fahy
3 November 2021
Erris Poetry 