Lichen Circles

Alone in this bay near Port Mary
only the waves creeping in
and the squeal of a buzzard
high on a clifftop for company

even hotter than yesterday
less wind, sea less frantic

I lie here on this shingle beach
in the early evening sun
until the sea laps my ankles
and the sun’s shadows grow long

around me sea pinks on wizened rock
terns diving out by the reef

three hours I’ve lain here now
among the glistening wet pebbles
and the lime green lichen circles

sky blue all blue
and a heat haze
right along the coast of Mull

drifting with the haze taking it all in
becoming those lichen circles.