Help me build a breakwater on our beach,
a bold brise-lames, like the one we saw
in Brittany, when we were still in love
with possibilities. After so much time
has passed in facing fraught challenges,
les vagues whip up daily. Exposed,
scared, we lose patience with our lives,
with each other. Let’s set to – protect
our habitat. Working together, recalling
what works, from those early days,
collaboration might save us from going
under. Let’s build a breakwater on our beach.
Note:
brise-lames – French – breakwater
les vagues – French – waves

Ceinwen lives near Newcastle upon Tyne, UK and writes short stories and poetry. She is widely published in online magazines and in print anthologies. Her first chapbook is 'Cerddi Bach' [Little Poems], Hedgehog Press, July 2019. She is a Pushcart Prize and Forward Prize nominee. She is developing practice as a participatory arts facilitator and believes everyone’s voice counts.