This poem, originally published on Every Day Poets, takes its inspiration from a 1931 creative map (produced by artist Edward Bawden) which now hangs in Scarborough Library.

Looking at a Print of Scarborough

This picture reminds me of the smell

of seaweed in cliff gardens at low tide,

when sunshine felt like a warm new suit all over,

and the open-top bus ride tousled our hair.

On the beach, eating ice creams,

we stared deep into donkeys’ eyes

to see their souls, sure they sensed ours

in the quiet tide beneath everything.

Lying on our stomachs, watching the sea,

I kept you safe like the castle keeps safe

its bay with rocky shoulder and encircling arm.

I touch the glass that separates the print from me.

There’s a slim airspace between today and yesterday.

I know I can always reach you there.

Stuart Larner