Steps in the sand,
deft hollows of sole,
their stride unbroken
on the foreshore,
bare-foot, soft-foot,
lightsome as air,
as if the trudge for miles
were no more than a skim,
a gentle wavering line,
the heartbeat of a child,
and all in one direction,
the opposite of mine.
Blake Morrison’s “Afterburn” (Chatto & Windus) is out now
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This article appears in the 25 Feb 2026 issue of the New Statesman, The Crumbling Crown