TITLE: THE SHALLOWS

PRICE: €1500

SIZE: 39" X 39"

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS,

WHITE FRAME

Purchase options:

Buy and collect

€1500

Buy with delivery to anywhere in the

world (+€80 p&p)

THE SHALLOWS

I watched a girl come down the beach

in a teeny weeny hot pink bikini

and a figure to die for,

and even though Instagram tells me

you're fine as you are, love your body,

I still felt a stab of resentment,

I want to look like that.

But hey ho, time moves on

and that ship has sailed,

so instead I tried to applaud her ability

not to eat the chips,

and do squats every morning

or whatever it is she does.

Or maybe it's just youth,

I remember that one too.

I watched for a while

as she dipped her toe in the water

and stood in the shallows

but only up to her ankles

and as she shivered and shook

I saw that it wasn't from cold, but fear.

She couldn't swim.

She was terrified of the water

of the pull of the currents

and the depths of the ocean,

whereas I, in my older age,

can still swim like a mermaid

embracing the silky sea water

buoying me up.

I wouldn't swap how I look

for a skill that I take for granted

and may save my life,

and I decided right then

that next time I go to make judgements

I'll hold back a little,

and not judge a book by its cover.

©Roisin Duffy