Poppy Pagoda Mixed My Soda
Was a small van that sold nothing
But cold soft drinks of all descriptions
I worked there one summer many years ago
And brushed up on my Shakespeare studies
When business was quiet or very slow
The van was parked opposite a small rockery
Which was part of a long ruined beach castle
That had been demolished by the violence of the sea
The pace of life there was almost horizontal
And I made many friends during my time on the beach
In about a fortnight I am due to visit this castle once again
As part of my research for my forthcoming book
I am strangely nervous about this visit
Which is very unlike me as I am rarely fazed
But I fell that I might meet the ghosts of my past
And do not know whether they will still like me