Derrick Buttress
A long vacation
The dining room of the Hotel Paradiso
offers a panoramic view of the city
and beyond to the shimmering cobalt of the sea.
There is a tang of salt on the warm breeze
gently lifting the window’s lacy curtain.
At last, the waiter enters bearing a tray
of iced, pink drinks and tropical fruit, freshly cut.
His menial face sags with the servile misery
of his work. I recognise him
as my old boss (Mr Quickly-Quickly)
the man I hated most.
I wave away his banal offering,
then rise and leave, with disdain.
Down on the beach of dazzling sand
Toby, my childhood mutt, dashes
from the sea to greet me in a frenzy
of recognition and joy, strokes his warm
wet tongue on my cheek.
I take the hand of the girl
who never cared for me quite enough.
As we stroll along the strand
I hope to unlock her love, at last.
We hurry to meet the morning ferry
easing into its berth in the hectic dock.
Crowding the deck of the Sharon
the new arrivals blink in the ineffable purity
of the light. Some frown, as though afraid.
There is uncertain laughter, frantic waving,
cries of surprise and delight as friend
greets half-forgotten friend, hears
a voice they thought was silenced long ago.
On we go, my girl and I,
back to the shining city
through an endless summer,
Toby skipping in and out of the sea,
chasing the laughing children we never had.
Page(s) 24-25
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