KOREAN EXPATRIATE LITERAURE #19
COCKLE GATHERERS
Jean Salkilld
Where the edge of the grey land fades
into the greyness of the water,
I watch the cockle gatherers
bound in woollen layers against
the adhesive wind; they take the safe
path through salt marsh and tidal creeks
animating the early morning
horizon, breathing life into the
struggling day; with rakes and riddles
at low tide they work the cockle
colonies nurtured in the softened,
wave-swept sand of the estuary.
Life is measured here by ebb ~ and ~
flow ~ ebb ~ and ~ flow.
Jean Salkilld was born and raised in Swansea, graduated from Swansea University. After retiring from teaching, she contributed to many
publications, including The Seventh Quarry.