Southwold beach and town, working lighthouse, pier and beach huts. Seaside at its best.

Poem by Richard Maslen:
The Fig Tree

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Poem by Richard Maslen:
The Fig Tree

The Fig Tree

There is
Some Dionysian connection
Here beneath the tree.
Its leathery leaves
Late this year.
Large enough now
To cover Adam's endowment,
Eve's mounting embarrassment.
The green roughness
Raising awareness
Of new fleshly delights.
Skin abraded gently
And not without pleasure.

There is a coolness here.
Hard by the house,
A shadowed sussurus
Making no impression
On the bricks.

Planted close to the wall,
Its tap root
Deep in the sandy earth,
Probing the moisture
Held in some cistern,
Filled with rain
And occasional flooding
From the river.
Whose saltiness
Silvering the trunk,
Drops the fruit
Before their time.
Allowing us the shade
In lieu.

The presence of the God is here
Under the leaves' green beneficence
A cool umbra over us all,
As we lift the wine
On Summer evenings,
Before we drink
And know his scented breath.

Back to the Richard Maslen Poem List

Some Favourite Websites For June 2025:

Michael BullenWalberswick based watercolourist and Artist

Watercolours are a moment in time with all the depth, light and simplicity of a haiku and just as elusive. Michael's paintings and prints can be viewed at his Studio overlooking The Market Square in Halesworth.

Lighthouse ViewSuperb Southwold self-catering cottage for four

Lighthouse View in Southwold is a comfortable and welcoming holiday cottage sleeping four in two bedrooms. This early-Victorian cottage is in the very heart of this attractive coastal town and the front door it is just yards from the promenade and sea.

David Elliott Stained GlassUnique decorative stained glass, plus courses for all abilities held in a custom-equipped studio

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Halesworth Millennium GreenThe largest Millennium Green in England

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PJN Motor EngineeringVery high quality local sevice

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