Mind the Gap

There's something
very wrong
with everything,
some cosmic equivalent
of a missed connection
at Cardiff Central,
or a derailment
outside Crewe,
a passing of ships
in the night,
captains staring
intently
the other way.
You stretched out
your hand
for the shell
just as it was taken,
by the tide,
beyond your grasp
and nothing
in the world can fill
the gap.