14. South Walney Island

. . . . . . . . and the long strand was littered with bones
————-cut or broken
that seemed too thick to be gulls, but honey-combed like birds’ bones
———————————and curved,   with a twist in their length
————-like a rope

and the yellow-horned poppy, the ragwort
———————————the slender thistles thrived
————-on pebbles of bird-droppings thick on the sand

and the gulls wheeled and cried
———————————plaintive and constant

and trash from the sea,
————-now withdrawn,

————-lay around us, with feathers and carcasses
———————————casual,   forlorn
of the un-birds, the once-birds
————-un-born.