Olden Days

My
great
aunt's aunt
witnessed it
on the promenade,
Eighteen-eighty something, she said.
I talked to 'Aunt' when I was little and she was old.
She said she remembered Gladstone
and the old queen's smile
seen through gaps
policemen's
legs
left.

It
was
windy
in Brighton
like it is today.
An old lady in a black dress -
the crinoline made her look like she didn't have legs
- until the wind got up her skirt
blowing her upwards
like a kite.
We laughed
'Aunt'
said.