Stuart Miller-Osborne

Pilar was in an avenue of short trees The summer leaves were shading her from the heat of the day Symmetrical marble benches were positioned opposite each other Some were being used by people wishing to shade themselves from the sun Others were vacant Pilar was running away from a haunted poem It was called The…

We are sitting in the Wimpy Bar in Swanage It is getting dark outside and I begin to imagine Edward Hopper’s famous painting Nighthawks You are enjoying your wimpy and coke And pretend not to notice me I run my hand across the smooth plastic table top And think of the skin that is hidden under…

I was sitting on the top of the Number 28 with you We were going to the cinema in the big town You were reading Wuthering Heights and I was looking out of the steamy windows The countryside was drab as it always was in the winter Everything was saturated and dull My grandmother was dying she…

I met my nun once a month at the main railway station in the city She did not wear a habit when visiting me We retired to the station hotel as soon as we met And made love in the afternoon As I stroked her smooth body I told her of my jealously of Christ…

I was wandering around a city that I was not totally familiar with Some of the streets did not appear to be on my map whereas others had different names Since my accident I had not been able to study as I had to wear shaded glasses for half of the day This was not…

Like a disciplined avalanche The white flowers slip quietly towards the red farm The moon is watching their progress with interest As beauty can suffocate without memory   Spring Evening Akershus Fortress The winter months have now passed And the fertile soil is nearing its prime The naked trees are awaiting the seasons warmth And…

The winter rains have washed away the topsoil On the exposed slopes that overlook the resting fields Ancient chalk paths have been partially uncovered And are dull in the late afternoon light Visitors will soon follow these quiet paths Without knowledge of the history contained   Winter on the Downs (Fragment) The the warmer winds…

Muriel and Alain were sitting on the terrace next to the path that led to the beach The sun was high and the air was warm but their friends had not arrived Alain switched the radio on but the light songs began to fade gently into the nearby tiger bushes Muriel was beginning to fret…

Sad Hiroshima had been thinking of shadows all day She looked at her own and those of other people As they crossed the square towards the bank The woman had been standing next to the bank when it happened Her shadow now resides in the peace museum A single tear ran down Sad Hiroshima’s porcelain…

During my days of imprisonment I often drew geometrical patterns On the walls of my cell That was until my pencil was confiscated I felt alone in the world yet surrounded by friends A kind prison guard later offered me a wooden dice On condition that I did not vandalise my cell I accepted and…