THE rising sun paints the horizon gold

As well as the placid water of the Bay

On this winter morning cloudless and cold

So peaceful here this early in the day.

There’s frost on the boardwalk of Mermaid Quay

White as the Norwegian Church which I view

And I feel my spirit has been set free

As seagulls glide in a sky of deep blue.

It’s one of those strange days now Christmas has gone

When decorations look a little sad,

A woman walks a dog with its coat on

As I recall many Christmas Day’s I’ve had.

A duck dives into the icy depths,

The Barrage and Penarth before my eyes

And that’s where I stroll with ghostly breath

Watching the mighty sun languidly rising.

Guy Fletcher

Pantmawr

Cardiff