Stuart Miller-Osborne

Over one hundred years have passed since your poem was written I am in Whitstable today with my family The sun is high in the sky and everything is calm Small children are playing with vacant oyster shells Whilst their parents paddle quietly in the sea Above me umber moths hide in the coastal trees…

You wrote your essay about Enobarbus quite naked in your bedroom You locked the door to extinguish interruptions and lifted your pen I will do justice to your name You said As I was also Anthony’s loyal friend But you are aware of Anthony’s foolish infatuation He will lose the war So you do not…

Exiled from your homeland You have farmed This derelict land For twelve winters It is unlikely that you will return To the country of your birth And you know That you will fade Without protest Into these unforgiving hills Two Polish soldiers who were exiled after serving in the Second World War found refuge in…

The magnificent Frigate Birds were following my yacht I knew that we were not far from land as the charcoal gulls and flying fish were becoming frequent visitors My Portuguese stowaway seemed to spend all of her time on deck sketching these beautiful creatures I had found her under a blanket in the forepeak after…

A number of railway bridges between Reading and Newbury are currently being either modernised or replaced as the process of electrification gathers pace The passenger footbridge at Newbury Railway Station which dates from 1910 will shortly be replaced by the newer bridge at the western end of the station I had made these notes whilst…

Shadows strange yellow Dance on your bedroom walls I watch your breasts Rise and fall As you sleep And wait for the late summer rhythms To enter your day

What have you been doing since we last met Saul? I have been reading a book about the Dyatlov Pass Incident What was that? It was about the strange deaths of nine hikers in the Ural Mountains in February 1959 Why strange? Because they suffered peculiar injuries and investigations have not been able to determine…

When she was a child Sarahe Shakespeare Easte would spend a good deal of time playing on the gravel and tar hills that could be found in most lay-bys She admired the rigid structure of these hills and how they did not attract vegetation Her father ran a burger van not far away and in…

That afternoon we painted the garden chairs a brilliant white We had planned to walk but it was too hot Aunt Mimi was sitting on the jetty with her feet dangling in the lake Quite often her friends swam from the jetty But she was alone and reading poetry Brutal French poetry Which seemed so…

He travelled the world Edward Morgan Edward Morgan But always returned To his simple maid Jenny Jones Jenny Jones His girl from Llangollen Who was both handsome and fair With sky-blue eyes And flaxen hair