Work Party

The membership of the river club
met on the jetty as the tide rose.
A cheerful bunch of elderly men
doing maintenance at season's close.

Here the fluky tides hook in
and drop detritus on the beach.
Missing dinghies, bits of wood,
plastic bottles for coke or bleach.

The cheerful banter abruptly stopped
some wondered why the chatter ceased
for there with the flotsam and the junk
was a sodden funeral wreath.