Poems about Dawlish

Although I live in Teignmouth, several of my poems relate to Dawlish. Here is one of them.

Rain
(For Wendy)

There was a day,
A Thursday,
When we, as we, were young,
And the rain fell.
We were drenched in seconds.
I wore my overcoat,
You had your dad’s cap
And a leather jacket.
No coat could keep out this downpour,
Proper-job Devon rain.

We had known each other
A few nights and fewer days.
We were keeping a low profile
But no other fools were about.

That night Dawlish Warren flooded,
Landslips stopped the trains.
Eldon was stranded there,
Reduced to drinking beer
In a warm pub.
I drove to rescue him but
The roads to the Warren were awash
With swimming cars.
I turned back
And came to rescue you.

Water sluiced in rivers down the roads,
Welled up from manholes.
Caravans were swept away
As sea and land joined,
As we were joined,
As we were swept away.

December 2001/November 2006.