Trip to Brighton

‘I love my dog as much as I love you.’
Remember that Cat Steven’s song?
You played it non-stop on the trip
to Brighton for your birthday in 1967.
Your mum had given you his new album,
‘Matthew and Son’.

We parked the Ford Zephyr on the sea front
then walked to the pier.
We screamed on the ghost train,
ate plates of whelks and chips,
then sat on the beach til the sun went down.

It was a quiet drive home - you couldn’t
find the Cat Steven’s tape.
I gazed out the window smiling,
as I pictured it surfing the waves.