Stuart Miller-Osborne

I bathe with my best friend every Tuesday Usually at about four in the afternoon We feel that the warm bathwater Protects us against the outside world Our conversations are minimal As we study the steamy wet room This small room is directly above a jetty Where my rowing boat is moored I have not […]

Jane and I had planned to walk to the North Bay But at about eleven in the morning The heavens opened with a vengeance So we settled down to watch our small television Modigliani Was the movie that we chose to watch Although we did not expect much of it Its sadness broke our hearts […]

I have only visited you once Although I am familiar With your centuries Time it seems Has slipped through my eyes Without my attention And I feel refreshed

Hi SMO Thank you for your letter it amused me a great deal Josie and I have settled here in Bali and seem to spend a lot of time on the beach even though we are supposed to be helping with the wedding As I write this I am reading The Magus by John Fowles […]

I am involved in a destructive love affair She is open but frequently hides from me You might have guessed that I am in love With the most beautiful beach in the world But my feelings are not reciprocated This saddens me as I am the only suitor A madness a very fine madness that […]

Under the old castle walls Overlooking the bay

It was very haunting standing next to your grave That overlooks both the sea and our lovely town Your grave is still much loved with snowdrops sown Pens left and beach pebbles collected I visited you on a very wet winters day And stood within the grassed puddles That reflected your history in such fine […]

When travelling with friends Both male and female We had a golden rule Bare bums in showers The idea was that one Submitted to a bare bum photograph Whilst taking a shower If any of us resisted Then they were punished By either paying for a meal Or a round of drinks Sometimes it was […]

Like a bastard growth I carried my fears Around with me They were watching me Ready to strike At any moment But the wide sands Showed me the cure These were my flat lands I felt safe there And ready to continue I soon left these flat lands And have returned to my own My […]

Simulacrum An image or representation Of someone or something An  unsatisfactory imitation or substitute Were the dictionary definitions Of this word which had been scratched in the sand In front of this huge hotel I added the following