His heart still pounds as Cornish breakers roll,
envisaging the plunge in ocean's surge,
to find that place within a humdrum soul
where spirit, mind and body surely merge.
Though older, he would yet obey the urge
to paddle, chase, and ride the rising swell;
a challenge sixty years cannot dispel.
His eyes brim bright as he remembers thrills,
the peeling wave, the race to catch the lip,
with sons discussing tips and tricks and skills,
the vagaries of tide and wind and rip.
...Back in the days before the dodgy hip,
before my services were called upon -
to help a vet to get his wetsuit on.