Quiet third

The quiet third
Person makes the conversation go round,
The man in the middle
Being talked across
As the three promenade
Along St Heliers Beach,
As if he isn’t there, and
When he’s not
The conversation dries up and
The tide ebbs away,
Anxiety swirls around the pair in a faintly fishy breeze,
The search for a quiet third
Becomes the talk
Of the walk back,
Holding the gap between