The white stone from the beach of Worbarrow Bay ...

I picked up a smooth white stone from the beach, holding it in my left hand - I felt its slow chill pulse - 

Three dogs ran past me - I heard their joyous breathing - waves broke upon the sand - foam glistened in the pale sunlight - 

The chalk cliffs rose above the bay - a bleached piece of driftwood had been cast far up the beach by a storm - 

I gazed out over the calm sea - from here the Isle of Portland looked like one of the Islands of the Blessed - I imagined sailing to its mysterious blue shore - 

I picked up the stone as talisman, placing it in my canvas bag - later I would hold it once more in my hand, pressing it against my heart - 

12.30

February 7 2015

The beach

Worbarrow Bay