{"id":10718,"date":"2022-05-03T17:41:34","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T16:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuartpoetry.art\/?p=10718"},"modified":"2022-05-03T17:42:13","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T16:42:13","slug":"portland-pier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/03\/portland-pier\/","title":{"rendered":"Portland Pier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nelly and Nora were sitting on Portland Pier<\/p>\n

They were sharing a sarsaparilla and watching the distant parasols<\/p>\n

The island was full of visitors as the day was fine<\/p>\n

Shall we paddle later as the sea is warm?<\/em><\/p>\n

I would rather bathe<\/em><\/p>\n

So would I but there are so many people here<\/em><\/p>\n

I should like to swim with the strong quarry man from that distant rock<\/em><\/p>\n

I expect that they would welcome an interruption from a pretty girl<\/em><\/p>\n

Am I not pretty?<\/em><\/p>\n

You are far more beautiful that I am<\/em><\/p>\n

I am rather plain<\/em><\/p>\n

You referred to yourself as a pretty girl<\/em><\/p>\n

I like to think that I am rather pretty<\/em><\/p>\n

Then you are dear Nelly<\/em><\/p>\n

The men who are swimming from the rocks have been here for centuries<\/em><\/p>\n

They look quite young to me<\/em><\/p>\n

Silly I mean their families have quarried the rock for centuries<\/em><\/p>\n

Would you like to swim with them?<\/em><\/p>\n

I have not brought a costume<\/em><\/p>\n

They are not wearing costumes only breeches<\/em><\/p>\n

Some are naked<\/em><\/p>\n

You are a wicked girl<\/em><\/p>\n

You bring me to this pier which has never existed and buy me a sarsaparilla to make me tipsy and then you force me to look at the naked\u00a0 quarry men swimming in the sea<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you not enjoying the entertainment?<\/em><\/p>\n

Very much<\/em><\/p>\n

This area of Portland has never had a fine pier such as this as its geography is too savage<\/em><\/p>\n

The quarry men however strong would soon succumb to the sea where they are swimming<\/em><\/p>\n

And if we ourselves bathed from the beach would have to be very careful<\/em><\/p>\n

Then we should bathe<\/em><\/p>\n

And what about the day trippers on Chesil Beach would they not be shocked at the sight of two young ladies one beautiful and one plain at play in the waves<\/em><\/p>\n

You said I am pretty<\/em><\/p>\n

You are rather plain to be truthful<\/em><\/p>\n

That hurts<\/em><\/p>\n

You are plain and I am beautiful<\/em><\/p>\n

But you are very intelligent and I am a silly girl who says the first thing that comes into her head<\/em><\/p>\n

I would rather be beautiful not dumpy and plain<\/em><\/p>\n

Two jet fighters screamed past at high speed<\/p>\n

They appeared to be hugging the coastline<\/p>\n

Both girls watched them pass<\/p>\n

I think that if we made our way towards the quarry men over there that they would find you as beautiful as me<\/em><\/p>\n

If this pier ever existed at all it would have been damaged beyond repair<\/em><\/p>\n

A Dutch ship was damaged by a war mine that caused it to drift into the pier during an exceptionally high tide<\/em><\/p>\n

It cut the pier in half and there was a considerable loss of life<\/em><\/p>\n

There is a crowd on the beach over there something has attracted their attention\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

We are both swimming in the waves<\/em><\/p>\n

It is not proper for young ladies to swim from a public beach you know<\/em><\/p>\n

The beach is deserted<\/em><\/p>\n

Good then we may retire from the sea without inhibition<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you enjoy our swim?<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes it was exhilarating<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you realise that we are being watched<\/em><\/p>\n

I knew our swim would attract attention<\/em><\/p>\n

No here on the pier that young man<\/em><\/p>\n

The curate<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes<\/em><\/p>\n

He is watching us as we enjoy our sarsaparillas\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Have you your ankle exposed<\/em><\/p>\n

I am wearing shorts of candy stripe red<\/em><\/p>\n

You are too fat to wear tight shorts you know<\/em><\/p>\n

I do not care<\/em><\/p>\n

I always look good in shorts as I have wonderful legs<\/em><\/p>\n

My legs are as nice as yours<\/em><\/p>\n

But they are so white and lumpy<\/em><\/p>\n

Look he is walking towards us<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you think he will buy us another sarsaparilla?<\/em><\/p>\n

He is not watching us\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

He is following the jet planes as they scream through the sky<\/em><\/p>\n

He is not watching the jet planes<\/em><\/p>\n

He is watching us emerge from the sea<\/em><\/p>\n

He has never seen anything as beautiful before<\/em><\/p>\n

We are his perfect angels<\/em><\/p>\n

He will drown next year after swimming off of this pier in search of his perfect angels<\/em><\/p>\n

A trio of jet planes faster than the first were flying at great speed on the horizon<\/p>\n

They were strafing an imaginary target<\/p>\n

Do you realise that in a hundred years that people will stand on the brow of the stones and look at the island as we are looking at it today<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes<\/em><\/p>\n

We will be long gone<\/em><\/p>\n

Most probably we will be buried in pathetic graves near one of the churches or chapels on the island<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Our headstones will made of Portland stone most likely quarried by the sons of the naked swimmers we are watching today<\/em><\/p>\n

Visitors to the island who have tired of Weymouth will tread in the long grass between the graves and look at the inscriptions on the gravestones<\/em><\/p>\n

They will find yours and mine and pay little attention to them<\/em><\/p>\n

Perhaps they might try to imagine what we were like<\/em><\/p>\n

Are our decedents still living on the island or were they killed in one of the many wars<\/em><\/p>\n

Was I beautiful and you quite plain?<\/em><\/p>\n

But what does that matter now<\/em><\/p>\n

They might say as they look at the sea in search of lost angels<\/em><\/p>\n

In the years to come you and I will lose our purity on this beach<\/em><\/p>\n

It will come as no surprise<\/em><\/p>\n

In a way we will welcome it<\/em><\/p>\n

The shrill sound of a whistle attracted the girl\u2019s attention and they both watched as a steam engine pulled into the simple village platform<\/p>\n

More day trippers I fear let us get dressed as I do not want to upset them<\/em><\/p>\n

But the fishermen can see us<\/em><\/p>\n

They will pay us no attention<\/em><\/p>\n

Why<\/em><\/p>\n

Because they are used to seeing angels emerging from the sea<\/em><\/p>\n

The pier had suddenly become crowded and jolly families seated themselves on the deckchairs either side of Nelly and Nora<\/p>\n

Children ran freely along the decks of pier whilst others looked at the breaking sea between its wooden boards<\/p>\n

Everywhere there was colour and soon the beach became crowded too<\/p>\n

I said that we should have retired from our recreation sooner and now we are only hidden by the forgiving sea<\/em><\/p>\n

Then we shall swim to dusk and let the night cloak our abandon<\/em><\/p>\n

And if we drown<\/em><\/p>\n

Then our white bodies will be washed up further down the coast<\/em><\/p>\n

A lovers tiff they might say<\/em><\/p>\n

They could not bear to be apart<\/em><\/p>\n

So they drowned themselves instead<\/em><\/p>\n

But this theory does not hold water as our lungs might<\/em><\/p>\n

Why would such a beautiful girl forsake her life for such a plain and dumpy girl?<\/em><\/p>\n

You said I was pretty<\/em><\/p>\n

After a few days in the sea all beauty is sacrificed<\/em><\/p>\n

But there would be traces of mine left<\/em><\/p>\n

Beauty is never fully destroyed<\/em><\/p>\n

As they struggled in the sea five of the quarry men swan towards the girls and took them in their arms<\/p>\n

You see we did not drown<\/em><\/p>\n

We are destined to die in our dull beds with a single candle illuminating our room<\/em><\/p>\n

The girls are thrown roughly onto the rocks and the sea is expelled from their sodden lungs<\/p>\n

They ripped open my blouse and pounded my chest<\/em><\/p>\n

I was given up for dead until an apprentice placed his fingers in my throat and caused me to vomit a mass of seaweed<\/em><\/p>\n

The quarry men just stared at me as I lay drowned on the rocks<\/em><\/p>\n

They had not adjusted my modesty<\/em><\/p>\n

I was liked a beached fish<\/em><\/p>\n

And then the foreman supposed that I was far too beautiful to have died\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

So he selected the fairest of the quarry men to kiss me on the lips<\/em><\/p>\n

The last train of the day was leaving the tiny station in the village square<\/p>\n

Nelly and Nora were sitting in the first carriage nearest to the engine<\/p>\n

Both were dozing assisted by the motion of the gentle train<\/p>\n

What a fun day we had<\/em><\/p>\n

I am in love with Tabutha Lynch<\/em><\/p>\n

Pray tell me who is Tabutha Lynch?<\/em><\/p>\n

The quarry man who saved me from drowning<\/em><\/p>\n

He has knowledge of my person that few share<\/em><\/p>\n

I have knowledge of your person as you have knowledge of mine<\/em><\/p>\n

But you are not a man<\/em><\/p>\n

Nelly and Nora were sitting on Portland Pier<\/p>\n

Do you realise that this pier if it ever existed at all will be destroyed twice before the new century is out<\/em><\/p>\n

Once by a doomed ship and then once again in a storm on the last day of the century<\/em><\/p>\n

There are billions of pebbles on this enormous beach<\/em><\/p>\n

As many pebbles as there are stars<\/em><\/p>\n

Young men often caress these smooth pebbles as part of their education<\/em><\/p>\n

Before they are wed<\/em><\/p>\n

Even Tabutha Lynch started his education on this very beach<\/em><\/p>\n

These are Nelly\u2019s eyes so modest and pure<\/em><\/p>\n

These are her shoulders so smooth and low<\/em><\/p>\n

This is her calf and this is her thigh<\/em><\/p>\n

This is her love for you and I\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Do not tease me<\/em><\/p>\n

I am not teasing you<\/em><\/p>\n

This branch was scrapped years ago and a strong road was built to serve the island<\/em><\/p>\n

Where once the beach was full of fishing boats it is now frequented by pleasure seekers<\/em><\/p>\n

But we had the pier<\/em><\/p>\n

Portland Pier<\/em><\/p>\n

There was never a pier at Portland<\/em><\/p>\n

The geography is wrong<\/em><\/p>\n

And the pebbles<\/em><\/p>\n

The pebbles have always been here<\/em><\/p>\n

There are billions of pebbles on this enormous beach<\/em><\/p>\n

As many pebbles as there are stars<\/em><\/p>\n

Each star that you see in the night sky is soul of a person departed<\/em><\/p>\n

Many are invisible to the naked eye but they are there\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Where is the railway?<\/em><\/p>\n

Long gone<\/em><\/p>\n

Replaced by a road<\/em><\/p>\n

The station site is lost in the village square<\/em><\/p>\n

Grand buildings frequent the area now<\/em><\/p>\n

The inn is much older still serves ale and beer<\/em><\/p>\n

I often listen to its foundations sing<\/em><\/p>\n

As I touch Tabutha\u2019s engagement ring\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

You will sadly die an old maid<\/em><\/p>\n

You beauty spent<\/em><\/p>\n

No longer will suitable men from the large cities visit your modest house<\/em><\/p>\n

Only your cats will welcome your company in your final years<\/em><\/p>\n

I will most likely die fat and happy on this very beach and will be found by my strapping sons<\/em><\/p>\n

Who will bury me next to Tabutha in the church distant from the village but with magnificent sea views\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It will be a happy occasion<\/em><\/p>\n

No tears will be spent<\/em><\/p>\n

You will witness my cortege from your rigid window<\/em><\/p>\n

But you will not know who I am<\/em><\/p>\n

For your mind will be spent<\/em><\/p>\n

I was once your best friend<\/em><\/p>\n

We did everything together<\/em><\/p>\n

But all you will see is decay<\/em><\/p>\n

Nelly and Nora were sitting on Portland Pier<\/p>\n

They were sharing a sarsaparilla and watching the distant parasols<\/p>\n

The island was full on visitors as the day was fine<\/p>\n

On the rocks out of view a man savage to ordinary tastes was watching jet planes scream across the sky<\/p>\n

They were alien to his world but fascinated him although he knew that they would bring his destruction<\/p>\n

On the pier he could see two modest girls with their ankles exposed<\/p>\n

He had seen them swimming<\/p>\n

But preferred their modesty<\/p>\n

I prefer what is hidden<\/em><\/p>\n

He said to the jet pilot flying overhead<\/em><\/p>\n

Be careful of the angels<\/em><\/p>\n

Do not spend their lives<\/em><\/p>\n

I am the keeper of the pebbles many<\/em><\/p>\n

Not one will leave this beach on my watch<\/em><\/p>\n

Only the sea will claim them<\/em><\/p>\n

Let us return our glasses to pier bar<\/em><\/p>\n

We are most refreshed<\/em><\/p>\n

Let us stroll like sisters on the promenade<\/em><\/p>\n

Some might think that we are secret lovers<\/em><\/p>\n

But we know more<\/em><\/p>\n

Let us exit this phantasy pier<\/em><\/p>\n

And wait for the afternoon train to arrive<\/em><\/p>\n

We will not travel to Weymouth today<\/em><\/p>\n

Nor will we visit the town tomorrow\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For our situation is here<\/em><\/p>\n

As it always has been<\/em><\/p>\n

We are the maidens of this gentle rock<\/em><\/p>\n

We are the maidens of this fabled beach<\/em><\/p>\n

We are the maidens both corrupted and pure<\/em><\/p>\n

Who live by the sea their lives obscure\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2018<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nelly and Nora were sitting on Portland Pier They were sharing a sarsaparilla and watching the distant parasols The island was full of visitors as the day was fine Shall we paddle later as the sea is warm? I would rather bathe So would I but there are so many people here I should like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10719,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10718\/revisions\/10719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}