Jane and I are enjoying iced coffees on the narrow promenade in Sandgate
The day is very warm and the week promises to become hotter still
These are the dog days of summer when the sultry air becomes lethargic and still
My wife has asked me to read her a poem written by Thomas Hardy
I have chosen Faintheart in a Railway Train from my book of his poems
At nine in the morning there passed a church,
At ten there passed me by the sea,
At twelve a town of smoke and smirch,
At two a forest of oak and birch,
And then on a platform she:
A radiant stranger, who saw not me,
I queried, ” Get out to her do I dare? ”
But I kept my seat in my search for a plea,
And the wheels moved on, O could it but be
That I had alighted there!
Jane is smiling at me and although she is wearing dark glasses
I can see her liquid grey eyes glinting in the early afternoon sun
We are watching people wearing brightly coloured clothes
Passing by and engaging in quiet almost secretive conversations
As we leave Jane tells me how much she enjoys the poetry of the railways