Lost Seasides

You can always float your boat
On the river Hamble
If the tide has slipped away
There's no need to gamble
Wait a very little time
Another will be with you soon
On account of the Isle of Wight
And of course the moon

Poke around the rocky shores
Of the Cornish riveiera
Even if the tides are out
The wind will be the bearer
Of the sound of crashing waves
They'll not be gone forever
In the meantime rockpools teem
In almost every weather

However, when on Southport beach
I am tantalised
By the myth of an absent sea
Here immortalised
Sucked away to the Isle of Man
Hiding on the horizon
The pier a bridge to nowhere
The beach a road to drive on

I am sure the fault is mine
Though the tide flows in but rarely
Sand and sea are still a beach
To  contradict would be contrary
As life wears on and years pass by
I often find myself besides
The sea in places strange to me
Remembering the lost seasides