Winter in a Shutdown Seaside Town

 There is nothing quite so grey
as the wintered backstreets
of a shutdown seaside town
pulled up its sheets
against the day. There is nothing quite as cold
as yesterday’s fish and chips
laid around sleet-shocked ground,
skittered by seagulls
embittered, emboldened. There is nothing quite as long
as the patient wait for Spring
and the stuttering restart
of everything. Harry Gallagher