Mackerel sky

Six am and the fish-market packs up. Men, heavy with sea-sweat,
drink black coffee in the local café. Seagulls pick at the remains of morning:
cod, lobster, dogfish. I watch you watching it all, imagine us becoming
so in tune with the earth and almost believe.

The shopkeeper tells us of a circular stone with a hole in the middle.
Walk around it five times and you’ll be pregnant within the year.
Funny, I always thought our first child would be an accident.
Not an unhappy turn of events,
just a surprise.

A single raindrop balancing off the bakery awning
is a reminder: weather knows
what’s going to happen before it happens.

They call it mackerel sky, as in undulating rolls of clouds
that bunch up like stress lines. I watch you fade
into ‘no entry’ tin mines, sea-licked and rusting.

The risk of you falling and cracking
your skull is a throb in the back
of my brain. 

From the notebook:

Stay:
– The Artist Residence, Penzance. You can check out their Instagram here (we were in no way sponsored to say that, we just adored this characterful hotel for its cosy bedding, roaring fire and glorious green bathtub).

Visit:
In Penzance itself:
– Stroll along Chapel Street and pop into the lovely antique shops/boutiques, Fishboy PZ was a favourite of ours thanks to their great customer service.
– Enjoy brunch at The Front Room, a quirky cafe inspired by the look of a cosy front room (hence the name). 
– Head to the high street and check out the charity shops for some thrifty finds.
– Take a swim at the Jubilee Pool, a lido which seems to float above the sea.
– Visit The Exchange, a small art gallery with a great museum shop.

Around Penzance:
– Head to St. Ives for cobbled streets and quirky  shops, then make sure to pop into the Tate St. Ives. 
– Get blown away by vast sea winds at Land’s End. 
– Take a trip to Levant Mine (because who doesn’t love a bit of Poldark?).
– Pop to St Just for a pub lunch.