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