Visiting Coleraine (a Poem)

Visiting Coleraine
for Isobel

Aran jumpers
Changing on the beach
Not knowing whether to write
Whitepark Bay
Two words or three

Stephen had a car
A small blue pedal car
Knees knocking the steering wheel
We circled the garden
Evading arrest

Auntie Isobel (always Auntie –
Friendly like she is)
Kindness personified
Smiling through glasses
Called us in

Sitting with sisters
Each side of the table
Uncle and Dad
Solving politics &
Education

Sunday afternoons with
Granny’s hat held by a pin
Donald’s fringe and happy voice
Questioning,
Isobel laughing

I remember Bannvale
Easy
Light
I remember it like a
Kodak box brownie

Just thinking about
Small blue pedal cars
Aran jumpers
And whether Whitepark Bay is
Two words or three

Andrew White, 11 October 2010