We can all fall prey to it despite constantly asking ourselves why.
It acts like a fall back position when our current life goes awry.
So it is with me and my long term attachment to this Northern town
but nothing is as it was no matter how long I may hang around.
The beach has almost disappeared, a narrow strip is all that remains
around which shallow waterways branch off like inter connecting veins.
No angry waves will sweep in under the once proud Victorian pier
constructed from iron it always looks to be windswept and austere.
The house we have booked is perfectly positioned on the Promenade.
The first night I can see that recreating the past is a charade.
Both this town, and I, we are not what we were all those decades ago
and what I'm searching for has become like some long forgotten sideshow.
Mornings are quiet, the breeze carries the aroma of espresso.
Afternoons bring the crowds like ants from under a garden patio.
Fleeting bits of the past appear then float away without being caught.
Time to accept there's no going back to 1970s Southport.
It acts like a fall back position when our current life goes awry.
So it is with me and my long term attachment to this Northern town
but nothing is as it was no matter how long I may hang around.
The beach has almost disappeared, a narrow strip is all that remains
around which shallow waterways branch off like inter connecting veins.
No angry waves will sweep in under the once proud Victorian pier
constructed from iron it always looks to be windswept and austere.
The house we have booked is perfectly positioned on the Promenade.
The first night I can see that recreating the past is a charade.
Both this town, and I, we are not what we were all those decades ago
and what I'm searching for has become like some long forgotten sideshow.
Mornings are quiet, the breeze carries the aroma of espresso.
Afternoons bring the crowds like ants from under a garden patio.
Fleeting bits of the past appear then float away without being caught.
Time to accept there's no going back to 1970s Southport.
3/27/2026
The Words That Got to Me
This piece really captures the ache of returning to a place that once meant everything and realizing it cannot give back what it once held. I liked the opening thought about nostalgia being something we fall back on when life goes wrong because that feels honest right away. The imagery of the beach reduced to “a narrow strip” and the waterways branching off “like interconnecting veins” stood out to me. It gave the town a worn, living presence. I also loved the emotional turn in “The first night I can see that recreating the past is a charade.” That line feels like the moment the truth fully lands.
Suggestions / Possible Tweaks
I think the heart of this is strong. My only suggestion would be to look at a few phrases for flow, like “fall back position” which might read a little smoother as “fallback position,” and “inter connecting” which could be tightened to “interconnecting.” There are also a couple longer lines that could maybe be trimmed slightly for rhythm, but nothing that takes away from the meaning. The closing is strong as is.
What stayed with me most is that this is not just about a changed town, but about the speaker recognizing they have changed too. That gives the poem its real weight. It feels reflective, grounded, and quietly sad in a way that rings true.