From a Selsey Rooftop

I open the window to 

Rustic tiled turrets and, beyond,
The blowing blue sea -
Breathing over them,
Over me.

 
Distant small boats with sails
Are white water butterflies
On the skyline
From an older time -
But older is current here,
A constant exhale.

And everywhere, birds.
Unbrushed brown sparrows,
Speckled, grey gulls on rooftops,
Magpies claiming the chimneys,
Black gulls the beach stones -
Wings
Have a belonging here,
A belonging to the breath,
A belonging to the sea.

LJ Ireton, 2023