The woman\u2019s husband left early
\nhe was visiting his aunt in Oakhampton
\nthe intention was to repair her greenhouse<\/p>\n
He had left a message on a log<\/p>\n
It was unreadable<\/p>\n
Wood is such a demanding medium<\/p>\n
As the day was warm
\nthe woman decided
\nto go to the beach<\/p>\n
The beach was twentythree yards away<\/p>\n
The beach was just under a mile long
\nand gently curved into a shallow arc<\/p>\n
There were fortyfive other beaches in the county
\nthat shared similar characteristics.<\/p>\n
The beach was typical of the area<\/p>\n
The woman passed Mr Wilkes the fisherman
\nwho was hanging his catch out to dry<\/p>\n
Mr Wikes had fished since 1946<\/p>\n
Only the postmistress was aware of this<\/p>\n
In one hundred and fifteen days time
\nMr Wilkes would suffer a fatal heart attack
\nwhilst fishing.<\/p>\n
His boat would remain at sea for an extra five hours<\/p>\n
Until the postmistress became worried<\/p>\n
The woman was unaware of this<\/p>\n
The seagulls were aware
\nbut they did not care<\/p>\n
Seagulls are incapable of emotion<\/p>\n
Mr Wilkes would be cremated
\nand his ashes would be interred
\nnext to a Mr Smith
\nwho died in 1946.<\/p>\n
The woman was on the beach
\nshe was walking mainly
\non sand, slate and sandstone<\/p>\n
There were twenty-three people on the beach<\/p>\n
The breeze was from the southwest<\/p>\n
At twentythree minutes past ten
\nthe temperature was
\ntwenty-three degrees centigrade.<\/p>\n
The woman\u2019s husband was fortysix miles away<\/p>\n
Distance is such a demanding medium<\/p>\n
The woman sat on the sand<\/p>\n
And watched the waves<\/p>\n
Which drowned every fortysix seconds<\/p>\n
Seagulls are aware of the time continuity of waves<\/p>\n
In the world of seagulls
\nthe continuity of time
\nis everything.<\/p>\n
A survivor of Mr Wilkes catch
\nwatched the woman
\nas it swam in twentythree inches of water.<\/p>\n
The woman did not see the fish<\/p>\n
Neither cared<\/p>\n
In the Atlantic Ocean
\na small earthquake
\nwas taking place
\nninetytwo miles west
\nof El Hierro<\/p>\n
The lizards on the island felt it<\/p>\n
In fortysix hours time
\nthe tide would rise
\ntwentythree inches<\/p>\n
The fish was aware of this<\/p>\n
So were the seagulls
\nbut they did not care<\/p>\n
Seagulls do not care about earthquakes<\/p>\n
The tide would flood Mr Wilkes drying station
\nbut no damage would be caused.<\/p>\n
When the earthquake west of El Hierro
\nceased ninetytwo seconds later
\nthe lizards relaxed<\/p>\n
lizards are not relaxed creatures<\/p>\n
Mr Wilkes owned a Golden Retriever<\/p>\n
Golden Retrievers are amongst the most relaxed of dogs<\/p>\n
Mr Wilkes called his dog Nick<\/p>\n
Golden Retrievers are often used
\nas guide dogs for blind people<\/p>\n
Nick was blind in one eye
\nhe appreciated the irony.<\/p>\n
In one hundred and fifteen days time
\nNick would be given to the postmistress
\nhe would miss Mr Wilkes
\nbut he liked the smell
\nof the franking machine
\nthis was the nearest Nick
\ncame to emotion.<\/p>\n
He was ashamed of this fact<\/p>\n
Golden Retriever\u2019s do not often feel shame<\/p>\n
On the beach a family of five
\nwere preparing a barbeque<\/p>\n
Barbeques were illegal on the beach
\nunder byelaw number sixtynine<\/p>\n
Nobody cared<\/p>\n
The youngest member of this family
\nhad thrown the stone
\nthat had broken the pane of glass
\nof the greenhouse
\nthat the husband was repairing.<\/p>\n
Originally there were twentyfour
\npanes of glass covering the greenhouse
\nnow there were twentythree<\/p>\n
His aunt\u2019s neighbours like continuity<\/p>\n
Mr Janes lived at number fortysix
\nhe loved the sea<\/p>\n
The sea was indifferent to his love<\/p>\n
The sea is always indifferent to love.<\/p>\n
Number fortysix
\nwas a five roomed cottage
\nbuilt in 1805<\/p>\n
Berthe Morisot had rented
\nthe cottage in 1872
\ntwentythree years before her death<\/p>\n
She has painted the sea<\/p>\n
Berthe Morisot had left
\nsplashes of paint
\non the windowsills
\nof the cottage<\/p>\n
The light had faded their colour
\nbut Mr Janes still loved them
\nbut not as much as the sea.<\/p>\n
Deep in the undergrowth
\nat the eastern end of the beach
\na walking stick
\nwith a Lapis Lazuli handle
\nlay lost
\nit\u2019s owner
\na Mr Owens
\nof Tadcaster
\nwas annoyed
\nbut not upset
\nas he considered
\nLapis Lazuli
\nto be a sinful stone<\/p>\n
The walking stick
\nwould not be found
\nfor twentythree years<\/p>\n
When found
\nonly the Lapis Lazuli
\nhad remained pristine.<\/p>\n
It is not a sinful stone<\/p>\n
The woman sat
\none hundred and eightyfour yards
\nfrom the decaying walking stick
\nwith a Lapis Lazuli handle<\/p>\n
She was thinking of mermaids<\/p>\n
Mermaids are mythical creatures<\/p>\n
Seagulls believe in mermaids<\/p>\n
Seagulls are often wise<\/p>\n
A mermaid considered the twentythree people
\non the beach<\/p>\n
A seagull perched on her tail
\nas she basked on the rocks
\nhidden by the undergrowth
\nat the eastern end of the beach<\/p>\n
She loved only one<\/p>\n
A man named Anthony Jarvis<\/p>\n
He was thirtytwo years old
\nand lived in Cornwall
\nnear St Ives<\/p>\n
She loved Anthony Jarvis
\nbut he was wedded
\nto the church
\nand sang the final hymn
\nat all services<\/p>\n
There was no church in the village<\/p>\n
It had been washed away in 1923
\nand never rebuilt<\/p>\n
The mermaid stood a chance<\/p>\n
But Anthony Jarvis
\nhad eyes only for his hymn book
\nespecially page ninetytwo<\/p>\n
The mermaid became broken hearted
\nand returned to the sea<\/p>\n
Where she changed fully into a fish
\nas broken hearted mermaids do<\/p>\n
She was caught in the net
\nof Mr Wilkes fishing boat
\nthree days later<\/p>\n
This was the day before
\nAnthomy Jarvis left for Cornwall
\nwith his hymn book<\/p>\n
On the day he left
\nhe was invited to a fish and chip supper
\nby Mr Janes<\/p>\n
They discussed the sea<\/p>\n
In heaven the mermaid
\nwept tears of joy
\nas she entered the heart
\nof her beloved<\/p>\n
Such are the mysteries of digestion<\/p>\n
There was one inn in the village<\/p>\n
It was called
\nThe George Crabb<\/p>\n
In honour of the poet<\/p>\n
Who had visited the village
\nin the May of an unspecified year
\nto study mermaids<\/p>\n
He found none<\/p>\n
Originally the villagers
\nwanted to call the inn<\/p>\n
The Duke of Suffolk<\/p>\n
But they could not understand
\nthe Long S<\/p>\n
So they named it after the poet<\/p>\n
This pleased the crabs of the area<\/p>\n
Crabs are illiterate
\nbut are such grateful creatures<\/p>\n
The inn had been constructed
\nfrom the bricks
\nthat remained
\nafter the building
\nof the lighthouse
\non Eagle Rock
\nin 1805<\/p>\n
It had been jealous of the lighthouse ever since<\/p>\n
Lighthouses do not feel jealousy<\/p>\n
In the snug
\nThe Brothers Ingram
\nplayed with five soldiers
\nof the First Pennisular War.<\/p>\n
They loved toy soldiers<\/p>\n
In 1904 they had visited
\nthe lighthouse
\naged fifteen and eight
\nwith one hundred and sixtyone toy soldiers
\ndressed in the uniforms
\nof The First Pennisular War<\/p>\n
They stationed them
\non the five rocks
\nof Eagle Rock<\/p>\n
Each soldier had a good view of the lighthouse<\/p>\n
Their orders<\/p>\n
Written in code<\/p>\n
Were to protect
\nthe lighthouse
\nand Eagle Rock<\/p>\n
From Napoleon<\/p>\n
The brothers loved
\nEagle Rock and the lighthouse
\nbut hated Napoleon.<\/p>\n
When they returned
\ntwentythree years later
\nonly five soldiers
\nof The First Pennisular War remained<\/p>\n
It had been a source of sorrow
\nto the brothers ever since<\/p>\n
They wanted to be buried together<\/p>\n
Like Massinger and Fletcher<\/p>\n
But this was not to be<\/p>\n
As they both fell<\/p>\n
On separate occasions<\/p>\n
From Eagle Rock
\ninto the sea<\/p>\n
Searching for the lost soldiers
\nof The First Pennisular War<\/p>\n
In Oakhampton
\nthe husband had repaired
\nthe greenhouse for his aunt<\/p>\n
And was taking tea
\nwith her
\nin a caf\u00e9 nearby<\/p>\n
The caf\u00e9 was opposite
\nOakhampton Cricket Club
\nfounded in 1904<\/p>\n
At that exact moment
\na Mr Tiles
\nbowled a wide ball
\nto a Mr Huxley<\/p>\n
In Devonshire bowlers named Tiles
\nare often poor<\/p>\n
It is blamed on the sea air
\nthat covers the county<\/p>\n
This poor delivery
\nof the twentythird over
\nwas dispatched
\nby Mr Huxley
\nat an angle of fortysix degrees
\nto a height of ninetytwo feet<\/p>\n
Five seconds later
\nit shattered a glass pane
\nof the newly repaired greenhouse.<\/p>\n
Leaving twentythree undamaged panes<\/p>\n
The husband and his aunt smiled<\/p>\n
Tea is such a soothing beverage<\/p>\n
Continuity is not everything<\/p>\n
In the village there existed
\nfiftyone dwellings<\/p>\n
Ann Mills
\nthe postmistress
\nlived in rooms
\nabove the Post Office<\/p>\n
She was the fifth
\nAnn Mills
\nto hold the post
\nof postmistress<\/p>\n
The Post Office
\nonly employed
\nvillagers by the name
\nof Ann Mills
\nthey trusted no other name<\/p>\n
As a spinster
\nAnn Mills
\nhid her poet
\nin the garden shed
\nhe slept covered
\nby her love letters
\nwhich he burnt
\nto keep warm<\/p>\n
He wrote no poems
\nbut imagined them
\nwritten on oyster shells<\/p>\n
One day without warning
\nhe walked to Wales
\nto live in a village named
\nLlaygotabbrogaagaffolaf
\nwhich lay hidden
\nin a valley
\nto the south of Aberystwyth<\/p>\n
When he left
\nAnn Mills burnt the garden shed
\nand a ship
\nfrom Peru
\nhit Eagle Rock
\nand sank near the lighthouse
\nwith all hands lost<\/p>\n
As they drowned
\nthey cursed the false beacon
\nof the sad postmistress<\/p>\n
Oysters are natural poets<\/p>\n
At three thirtyseven
\nin the afternoon
\nthe woman left the beach
\nafter taking a refreshing swim<\/p>\n
She walked her freedom road
\nthinking of Eden<\/p>\n
The only craftsman in the village
\nwas leaving Oakhampton
\nafter kissing his aunt goodbye<\/p>\n
The woman passed Mr Wilkes
\nas he dried his fish<\/p>\n
She did not return
\nthe knowing smile
\nof the postmistress<\/p>\n
As she arranged the shop
\nfor the following day<\/p>\n
The postmistress kissed the counter
\nwhich she had not dusted
\nsince her poet had left<\/p>\n
As it contained
\nan invisible poem to her
\nwritten in Greek<\/p>\n
Or so the poet had said<\/p>\n
Mr Janes passed
\nand raised his hat<\/p>\n
Which was stained
\nwith splashes of paint
\nfrom the brush
\nof Berthe Morisot<\/p>\n
He was heading towards the sea
\nwhich on this occasion
\nreflected his love<\/p>\n
The sea is fickle
\nbut not always cruel<\/p>\n
The brothers Ingram
\nsearched for their lost armies
\non the sands
\nof the beach<\/p>\n
They did not see the woman<\/p>\n
But spotted the ships
\nof Napoleon
\nprepared for war
\na mile west
\nof Eagle Rock<\/p>\n
They agreed to fight
\nto the last man<\/p>\n
This was to be their final battle<\/p>\n
As the sun blistered
\nher white road
\nthe woman passed her school<\/p>\n
Now closed<\/p>\n
Where she had been educated to the age of twelve<\/p>\n
She passed the wall
\nwhere the masters
\nhad spoken Latin
\nas they smoked their pipes
\nduring the dinner hour<\/p>\n
The children had worn uniforms
\nof sea blue
\nas not to alarm the gulls
\nas they perched
\non the school bell
\ncounting passing ships<\/p>\n
Seagulls are colourblind
\nbut do not tell tales of their affliction<\/p>\n
Only the sea knows the truth
\nas seagulls do not admire sunsets<\/p>\n
In the distance
\nby their whitewashed house
\nthe woman\u2019s husband
\nstood near the broken gate<\/p>\n
With his hands in his pockets<\/p>\n
As she drew near
\nhe threw a cricket ball to her
\nwhich she caught<\/p>\n
\u201c For you <\/i>\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201c A present from a friend <\/i>\u201c<\/p>\n
On the nearby beach
\nfive children played cricket<\/p>\n
One was twentythree not out<\/p>\n
Cricket is a game of the sea<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The woman\u2019s husband left early he was visiting his aunt in Oakhampton the intention was to repair her greenhouse He had left a message on a log It was unreadable Wood is such a demanding medium As the day was warm the woman decided to go to the beach The beach was twentythree yards away […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076"}],"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=1076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}