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