The City Kids See the Sea

The City Kids See the Sea
by Roger Robinson

For many the first time;
these kids of the tower block
and tarred playgrounds

now running towards this scene
of sea with its blended blue sky
and wave breaks of silver tipped froth

Most never even bother
to take off their shoes
or roll up their pants

Instead they run right in
splashing each other
with arcs and sprays of delight.

Sunlight threading gold
along the seas rippling
swells all around them

till the sea became the colour of smoke
and the sky lead; hijabs dripped
and Nikes squelched back to the bus

O city children you are as ancient
as water, as warm as the evening sun
as calm as the tide slowly pulling away.

Directed by Matthew Thompson.
Commissioned by the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation.
‘The City Kids See the Sea’ is reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd © Roger Robinson 2022.

Roger Robinson

Roger Robinson is an award-winning writer and performer from Trinidad now living in Britain.