The woman’s 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
The beach was just under a mile long
and gently curved into a shallow arc
There were fortyfive other beaches in the county
that shared similar characteristics.
The beach was typical of the area
The woman passed Mr Wilkes the fisherman
who was hanging his catch out to dry
Mr Wikes had fished since 1946
Only the postmistress was aware of this
In one hundred and fifteen days time
Mr Wilkes would suffer a fatal heart attack
whilst fishing.
His boat would remain at sea for an extra five hours
Until the postmistress became worried
The woman was unaware of this
The seagulls were aware
but they did not care
Seagulls are incapable of emotion
Mr Wilkes would be cremated
and his ashes would be interred
next to a Mr Smith
who died in 1946.
The woman was on the beach
she was walking mainly
on sand, slate and sandstone
There were twenty-three people on the beach
The breeze was from the southwest
At twentythree minutes past ten
the temperature was
twenty-three degrees centigrade.
The woman’s husband was fortysix miles away
Distance is such a demanding medium
The woman sat on the sand
And watched the waves
Which drowned every fortysix seconds
Seagulls are aware of the time continuity of waves
In the world of seagulls
the continuity of time
is everything.
A survivor of Mr Wilkes catch
watched the woman
as it swam in twentythree inches of water.
The woman did not see the fish
Neither cared
In the Atlantic Ocean
a small earthquake
was taking place
ninetytwo miles west
of El Hierro
The lizards on the island felt it
In fortysix hours time
the tide would rise
twentythree inches
The fish was aware of this
So were the seagulls
but they did not care
Seagulls do not care about earthquakes
The tide would flood Mr Wilkes drying station
but no damage would be caused.
When the earthquake west of El Hierro
ceased ninetytwo seconds later
the lizards relaxed
lizards are not relaxed creatures
Mr Wilkes owned a Golden Retriever
Golden Retrievers are amongst the most relaxed of dogs
Mr Wilkes called his dog Nick
Golden Retrievers are often used
as guide dogs for blind people
Nick was blind in one eye
he appreciated the irony.
In one hundred and fifteen days time
Nick would be given to the postmistress
he would miss Mr Wilkes
but he liked the smell
of the franking machine
this was the nearest Nick
came to emotion.
He was ashamed of this fact
Golden Retriever’s do not often feel shame
On the beach a family of five
were preparing a barbeque
Barbeques were illegal on the beach
under byelaw number sixtynine
Nobody cared
The youngest member of this family
had thrown the stone
that had broken the pane of glass
of the greenhouse
that the husband was repairing.
Originally there were twentyfour
panes of glass covering the greenhouse
now there were twentythree
His aunt’s neighbours like continuity
Mr Janes lived at number fortysix
he loved the sea
The sea was indifferent to his love
The sea is always indifferent to love.
Number fortysix
was a five roomed cottage
built in 1805
Berthe Morisot had rented
the cottage in 1872
twentythree years before her death
She has painted the sea
Berthe Morisot had left
splashes of paint
on the windowsills
of the cottage
The light had faded their colour
but Mr Janes still loved them
but not as much as the sea.
Deep in the undergrowth
at the eastern end of the beach
a walking stick
with a Lapis Lazuli handle
lay lost
it’s owner
a Mr Owens
of Tadcaster
was annoyed
but not upset
as he considered
Lapis Lazuli
to be a sinful stone
The walking stick
would not be found
for twentythree years
When found
only the Lapis Lazuli
had remained pristine.
It is not a sinful stone
The woman sat
one hundred and eightyfour yards
from the decaying walking stick
with a Lapis Lazuli handle
She was thinking of mermaids
Mermaids are mythical creatures
Seagulls believe in mermaids
Seagulls are often wise
A mermaid considered the twentythree people
on the beach
A seagull perched on her tail
as she basked on the rocks
hidden by the undergrowth
at the eastern end of the beach
She loved only one
A man named Anthony Jarvis
He was thirtytwo years old
and lived in Cornwall
near St Ives
She loved Anthony Jarvis
but he was wedded
to the church
and sang the final hymn
at all services
There was no church in the village
It had been washed away in 1923
and never rebuilt
The mermaid stood a chance
But Anthony Jarvis
had eyes only for his hymn book
especially page ninetytwo
The mermaid became broken hearted
and returned to the sea
Where she changed fully into a fish
as broken hearted mermaids do
She was caught in the net
of Mr Wilkes fishing boat
three days later
This was the day before
Anthomy Jarvis left for Cornwall
with his hymn book
On the day he left
he was invited to a fish and chip supper
by Mr Janes
They discussed the sea
In heaven the mermaid
wept tears of joy
as she entered the heart
of her beloved
Such are the mysteries of digestion
There was one inn in the village
It was called
The George Crabb
In honour of the poet
Who had visited the village
in the May of an unspecified year
to study mermaids
He found none
Originally the villagers
wanted to call the inn
The Duke of Suffolk
But they could not understand
the Long S
So they named it after the poet
This pleased the crabs of the area
Crabs are illiterate
but are such grateful creatures
The inn had been constructed
from the bricks
that remained
after the building
of the lighthouse
on Eagle Rock
in 1805
It had been jealous of the lighthouse ever since
Lighthouses do not feel jealousy
In the snug
The Brothers Ingram
played with five soldiers
of the First Pennisular War.
They loved toy soldiers
In 1904 they had visited
the lighthouse
aged fifteen and eight
with one hundred and sixtyone toy soldiers
dressed in the uniforms
of The First Pennisular War
They stationed them
on the five rocks
of Eagle Rock
Each soldier had a good view of the lighthouse
Their orders
Written in code
Were to protect
the lighthouse
and Eagle Rock
From Napoleon
The brothers loved
Eagle Rock and the lighthouse
but hated Napoleon.
When they returned
twentythree years later
only five soldiers
of The First Pennisular War remained
It had been a source of sorrow
to the brothers ever since
They wanted to be buried together
Like Massinger and Fletcher
But this was not to be
As they both fell
On separate occasions
From Eagle Rock
into the sea
Searching for the lost soldiers
of The First Pennisular War
In Oakhampton
the husband had repaired
the greenhouse for his aunt
And was taking tea
with her
in a café nearby
The café was opposite
Oakhampton Cricket Club
founded in 1904
At that exact moment
a Mr Tiles
bowled a wide ball
to a Mr Huxley
In Devonshire bowlers named Tiles
are often poor
It is blamed on the sea air
that covers the county
This poor delivery
of the twentythird over
was dispatched
by Mr Huxley
at an angle of fortysix degrees
to a height of ninetytwo feet
Five seconds later
it shattered a glass pane
of the newly repaired greenhouse.
Leaving twentythree undamaged panes
The husband and his aunt smiled
Tea is such a soothing beverage
Continuity is not everything
In the village there existed
fiftyone dwellings
Ann Mills
the postmistress
lived in rooms
above the Post Office
She was the fifth
Ann Mills
to hold the post
of postmistress
The Post Office
only employed
villagers by the name
of Ann Mills
they trusted no other name
As a spinster
Ann Mills
hid her poet
in the garden shed
he slept covered
by her love letters
which he burnt
to keep warm
He wrote no poems
but imagined them
written on oyster shells
One day without warning
he walked to Wales
to live in a village named
Llaygotabbrogaagaffolaf
which lay hidden
in a valley
to the south of Aberystwyth
When he left
Ann Mills burnt the garden shed
and a ship
from Peru
hit Eagle Rock
and sank near the lighthouse
with all hands lost
As they drowned
they cursed the false beacon
of the sad postmistress
Oysters are natural poets
At three thirtyseven
in the afternoon
the woman left the beach
after taking a refreshing swim
She walked her freedom road
thinking of Eden
The only craftsman in the village
was leaving Oakhampton
after kissing his aunt goodbye
The woman passed Mr Wilkes
as he dried his fish
She did not return
the knowing smile
of the postmistress
As she arranged the shop
for the following day
The postmistress kissed the counter
which she had not dusted
since her poet had left
As it contained
an invisible poem to her
written in Greek
Or so the poet had said
Mr Janes passed
and raised his hat
Which was stained
with splashes of paint
from the brush
of Berthe Morisot
He was heading towards the sea
which on this occasion
reflected his love
The sea is fickle
but not always cruel
The brothers Ingram
searched for their lost armies
on the sands
of the beach
They did not see the woman
But spotted the ships
of Napoleon
prepared for war
a mile west
of Eagle Rock
They agreed to fight
to the last man
This was to be their final battle
As the sun blistered
her white road
the woman passed her school
Now closed
Where she had been educated to the age of twelve
She passed the wall
where the masters
had spoken Latin
as they smoked their pipes
during the dinner hour
The children had worn uniforms
of sea blue
as not to alarm the gulls
as they perched
on the school bell
counting passing ships
Seagulls are colourblind
but do not tell tales of their affliction
Only the sea knows the truth
as seagulls do not admire sunsets
In the distance
by their whitewashed house
the woman’s husband
stood near the broken gate
With his hands in his pockets
As she drew near
he threw a cricket ball to her
which she caught
“ For you “
“ A present from a friend “
On the nearby beach
five children played cricket
One was twentythree not out
Cricket is a game of the sea