The Lakes

The wet here can break a person’s heart with sheer persistence.

Imagine one day your husband’s beard smells of damp dog,

his long johns stink of pondweed, and you think nothing –

or very little – of it. Until, one day,

you wake to find him looking up at you with wet spaniel eyes.

That’s what it’s like – an endless incoming tide.

The trick is to give him plenty of exercise.

(Published in We'll Sing Blackbird)