Trafalgar by Annabel Howarth

Taste celebration, bitter sweet,

Raw hope and fear meet,

A small Victory won,

Fatal woundings are done,

As other battles wage on,

Listen, as the past year mourns,

Gaze on the new day’s dawn,

And seek new joy and hope,

Refuge from the lighthouse calls.





According to today's shipping forecast for Trafalgar, the sea state is "rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough later".

This acrostic poem is inspired by the shipping forecast for Trafalgar,  the famous battle of 1805 which was fought in the Cape of Trafalgar and the lighthouse which was subsequently erected there, news that there was a fatal stabbing in Trafalgar Square shortly after Christmas, and the general conflicting feelings surrounding this time of year.