TRANQUILITY ON THE MARSH 
BY COLIN BURCHETT
Bright
Summer afternoon, bench in the garden, slight breeze.
Take
a seat, close your eyes, listen!
The
faint breeze rustles through the poppy leaves and petals.
There
is a skylark singing high above the scrub and pebbles.
Bees
are buzzing through the flower heads collecting pollen and nectar.
A
tinkle from wind chimes in the distance and the low boom of bamboo chimes joins
in the chorus.
Screeching
sounds above from the seagulls rising on the thermals from the front of the
houses and bungalows as they prepare to fly over the parked cars for a bombing
run.
Drone
of a light aircraft heading towards the airfield.
Raucous
cry of a rook in the distance.
Chirping
of the grasshoppers in the undergrowth.
The
whoosh of a car as it passes each house and the sound echoes between the
buildings.
Yapping
of a dog about to be taken out for a walk.
Voices
of children at play.
Purring
of a motorbike far away.
In
the distance the sound of the waves breaking on the shingle and rushing back
over the sand.
High
above and a long way off the constant drone of an airliner.
Suddenly
the peace is shattered by a whistle from the steam train as it approaches the
road returning from Dungeness and when it passes by there is the clickety clack
as the wheels run over the track and the smell of the smoke from the engine.
Church
clock chiming the hour, far, far away.
Still
with your eyes closed, the shadows of the leaves cross your eyelids
obliterating the sun and causing flashes of light.
Another
train, frantic, staccato puffing pulling hard round the loop to get up momentum
for the journey back to New Romney.
Open
your eyes. Now you see several
butterflies round the honeysuckle and on the flower heads. The poppy heads bowing in the breeze. The seagulls floating above without moving
their wings. The airliner leaving a
long vapour trail in the sky.
Silence! But still something is happening - the lighthouse flashes its regular message
to those that need it.
Still
tranquil, and all of the sounds return as before.
Close
your eyes, sit back and listen!