Moderate Visibility

When I was a child long ago,
listening to the radio
with my grandma, sipping tea,
tuning in to the BBC
for the shipping forecast every day,
taking in each word they'd say.
Dogger, Fisher, German Bight;
precipitation within sight
away from land and out to sea
with moderate visibility.
Force four South, veering South West later,
warm winds coming from the Equator.
Bailey, Malin, Hebrides;
fog clearing in the gentle breeze.
Winds freshen in Finisterre
blowing rain clouds here and there.
Dover, Wight and Portland Bill,
gale force winds are raging still.
Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea
have moderate visibility.
Heavy rain in Tyne and Forth
and a good force nine is moving North
to Cromarty, where waves are high,
almost reaching for the sky.
While down in Plymouth the seas are calm
the forecast says it's turning warm,
over a thousand millibars
In clearing skies you'll see the stars.
Grandma, peering over her tea
says "moderate visibility".