{"id":9941,"date":"2022-02-16T20:12:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T20:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuartpoetry.art\/?p=9941"},"modified":"2022-02-16T20:40:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T20:40:08","slug":"the-lady-ghosts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/16\/the-lady-ghosts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lady Ghosts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day after day, day after day<\/em><\/p>\n

We stuck, nor breath, nor motion\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As idle as painted ship\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Upon a painted ocean<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anna and Anna were walking back from the Zetland Inn<\/p>\n

After celebrating a close friends birthday<\/p>\n

It was a wild February night<\/p>\n

With the west south west winds<\/p>\n

Blowing at gale force<\/p>\n

Fresh from the sea<\/p>\n

But strangely it was winter mild<\/p>\n

Although both women were quite windswept<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did you hear that Anna<\/em><\/p>\n

Hear what<\/em><\/p>\n

It sounded like a poem but wind has drowned the words<\/em><\/p>\n

Then you could not have heard the poem<\/em><\/p>\n

Who in their right mind would read poetry on a night like this<\/em><\/p>\n

A madman I would think<\/em><\/p>\n

There I can hear it again <\/em><\/p>\n

It seems to be coming from the sentinel<\/em><\/p>\n

I cannot even see the sentinel as the night is so dark<\/em><\/p>\n

All our senses are alive but we cannot even see our boots<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What do you think it was<\/em><\/p>\n

It might have been a Lady Ghost as they are said to frequent this area<\/em><\/p>\n

A Lady Ghost<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes they are the sea spirits of the wives and sweethearts of those lost at sea<\/em><\/p>\n

Why would they read poetry<\/em><\/p>\n

To pass the time until their loved ones return from the sea<\/em><\/p>\n

And if they do not return<\/em><\/p>\n

Then they remain at their point of leisure forever reading poetry<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you hear the poem<\/em><\/p>\n

Clearly as I have no ear for storms<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you recognise it<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes it was from The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shall we venture towards the sentinel so that might keep the wretched creature company<\/em><\/p>\n

I am sure that she would welcome out visit<\/em><\/p>\n

It would be a pointless venture Anna as you cannot see Lady Ghosts<\/em><\/p>\n

Are they invisible<\/em><\/p>\n

Not really as beasts can see them but human eyes cannot witness their irregular forms<\/em><\/p>\n

So you are saying that our dog would be able to see the Lady Ghosts but not you or I<\/em><\/p>\n

Precisely<\/em><\/p>\n

But our beasts cannot hear the poetry whereas we can hear every word<\/em><\/p>\n

We can hear<\/em><\/p>\n

Our dogs can see<\/em><\/p>\n

The Lady Ghosts<\/em><\/p>\n

Even on foul nights such as this<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anna and Anna ceased their conversation and entered their coastal cottage with little ceremony as they were glad of relief from the storm<\/p>\n

Their dog whined a little as a form of greeting and then went back to sleep<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day after day, day after day<\/em><\/p>\n

We stuck, nor breath, nor motion\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As idle as painted ship\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Upon a painted ocean<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Lady Ghost who was sitting on a small beach chair repeated these lines time and time again<\/p>\n

She was looking out into the blackness of the sea<\/p>\n

Her lover she knew was out there somewhere<\/p>\n

And she was waiting for him to return<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day after day, day after day We stuck, nor breath, nor motion\u00a0 As idle as painted ship\u00a0 Upon a painted ocean   Anna and Anna were walking back from the Zetland Inn After celebrating a close friends birthday It was a wild February night With the west south west winds Blowing at gale force Fresh […]<\/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-9941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9941","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=9941"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9947,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9941\/revisions\/9947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}