Margate, 2010
St Michael and all Angels descend from the bus,
heralded by the boom of carnival drum and bass,
to a sweep of sea and a golden curl of sand
where pink bikinis dance round tumbledown castles,
shaking down fried noodles and ice-cream, and
Polish teens call the score for volleyball
alongside swingboats where tattooed dads
look on as sticky toddlers rise and fall.
Girls in swimsuits and hijabs hunt for treasures
and a flock of nuns dares the incoming tide
while wrinkled hands unwrap blintzes and pittas,
watching as the twirl of sequins and boas creeps
towards the Turner, backs to Dreamland
where the wreck of the rollercoaster sleeps.
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Vicky Wilson is a poet and non-fiction writer. Her poems have been published in Line Dancing (Categorical Books, 2010) as well as in several magazines and anthologies and her book London’s Houses is due out from Metro Publications in 2011. She works in schools as part of the soon-to-be-axed Creative Partnerships programme and as an editor. Her most recent project is Did I Tell You? a poetry anthology co-edited with Nicky Gould that has raised over £3000 for Children in Need. She likes performing her poetry and has recently begun to write ‘found poems’ based on her interactions with the public at festival events.
Abegail Morley 