Fish on the Street

Fish on the Street-

a recollection of the tidal surge of December 2013 in Hull

They said it would be big,
 a combination of factors
"No way like in '53",
said the seasoned detractors
Those were the old days
of a prayer and a hope,
a rescue dinghy pulled along
by an old knotted rope
through the terraced streets,
in and out of the courts
it was a regular threat
that the high tides brought

A thing hand in hand
for the Port of Hull
like a trawler returning
and the reeling of gulls.
Now with barrier and walls
things would be better
in spite of the climate
getting warmer and wetter.
A rise in the oceans,
a change in the currents
so a Canute type approach,
is no long term deterrent.

A swell up the coast and
the wrong type of gale
caused the Yorkshire tsunami
to pitch in full sail
They found fish on the pavement
in the centre of town
a few whiting and cod
with an ironic frown

It was a strange incongruence,
an aquatic dirge
an unfortunate consequence
of a tidal surge.