The language of seals ...

Mist veiled the islands -

Leaves fell from the oak trees - 

Two seals watched us from the water -

They drifted with the tide - 

We felt their gaze upon us - 

We saw their neat shapely heads - 

Their dark shining eyes - 

I remembered what Wittgenstein said about the language of lions -

Would the same be true of seals ? -

If those two seals could speak, would I be able to understand them ?

Friday 30 October 2020

Arne 

Shipstal Point

Dorset 

Si tu dois partir ...

I turn the pages of this atlas my dad gave me -

I can read my name, written in his clear beloved handwriting on the inside front cover- 

Christopher Bradey -

45 Palmyra Road, Elson, Gosport, Hants, 1966 - 

I was fourteen years old, a whisper of bone - 

My smooth skin barely hiding my ribs - 

I wanted to be an explorer - 

Even the names of English cities were strange to me -

I'd gaze at the shape of lochs -

Trace the course of a river - 

I'd look at these maps with a racing heart -

My pure bed my world - 

I'm looking now at my favourite map - 

The Isle of Skye - 

Uig Bay - 

I've been to Uig -

I sat in the cafe near the harbour wall - 

We listened to Fairport Convention on the grimy jukebox -

Sandy Denny singing - 

Si tu dois partir -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Each mazy street ...

We ate lemon drizzle in The Boston Tea Party -

A man with a purple hat spoke of tarot cards - 

Wooden beams held high the timeworn ceiling -

Beyond the latticed windows brightness fell - 

Each mazy street touched the edge of the world - 

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Boston Tea Party 

Salisbury 

Quiet lives ...

The twilight river reflected the autumn clouds -

These fishermen would watch the night come to the gentle town -

Their voices would carry over the water - 

The river would remember their quiet lives - 

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Town Quay

Wareham 

Dorset 

Remembering the blue car ...

We drove through the forest - 

There were dark trees each side of the dual carriageway - 

I thought I saw an owl netted by the headlamp beams - 

The car radio whispered something - 

The moon was full - 

I felt the steering wheel quiver beneath my fingers - 

I drove faster - 

The blue car leapt forward - 

Stars fell from the sky - 

Monday 26 October 2020

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

We saw the rain come ...

We saw the rain come - 

Squalls above the white horses -

The rain stung our faces - 

The wind bent the tamarisk trees - 

Woke the ghosts in the locked cave -

When the rain stopped, a rainbow joined sea and sky - 

Sunday 25 October 2020

Durlston 

Swanage 

Dorset 

Yellow feathers in Bowling Green Wood ...

Leaves whirled through the air -

We were walking through Bowling Green Wood -

The seasons flew past -

I felt them touch my face -

Like the touch of yellow feathers - 

Saturday 24 October 2020

Lulworth 

Dorset