Leaving the cottage

Leaving the cottage -

The thick stone walls, whitewashed to a dazzle - 

The low ceilinged rooms - 

The porthole window -

The apple tree in the salty garden - 

The soft beds where we heard the voice of the sea - 

Veronica Cottage

Portscatho 

September 12 2026 

Last night at The Standard

A snug like a burrow -

Paintings of dead captains -


A glass of Tribute in the riotous garden -

A starless sky - 

The Standard

Portscatho 

September 2026 

Queen of Falmouth

Breathing wild air -

The boat side on to the waves -

Spray chilling our faces -

Glimpsing a yacht with swollen sails -

A lighthouse on a headland -

A reef of clouds in the sky -

Queen of Falmouth 

St Mawes Falmouth Ferry

September 2026 

Percuil River

I rowed the white dinghy out into the river -

Past yachts and sleek RIBs -

The wind ruffling the water - 

Trees lining the curving channel - 

Anne sweeping by on her blue kayak - 

Eyes hidden by sunglasses - 

Warm sunlight dancing on the waves - 

Both of us in a watery Eden - 

Percuil River 

Cornwall

September 2026 

Swimming off Towan Beach

I can still feel the water I swam in -

The memory of the waves on my skin -

The blueness of the sky above me -

The beauty of the clouds -

Towan Beach 

Cornwall

September 2026 

St Just in Roseland

As though I were remembering a dream -

The deep valley -

The gentle greenery over mossy beds -

The church with its ancient name -

Heaven reflected in the silent river -

St Just in Roseland

September 2026 

Portscatho twilight

Walking back up the hill -

Away from the small harbour -

The fishing boats resting on the sand -

Past curtains hiding gentle rooms -

Gardens facing the sea -

Lampposts glimmering in the salty twilight -

Followed by our earlier selves -

Anne, going to a dance -

There, in the Memorial Hall -

Myself, on the clifftop path -

Wearing a shirt as blue as the sea - 

Portscatho 

September 2026