THE COMMODORE’S HOUSE, COWES

Posted by Admin on 15 April 2008, 12:00 am

Since William Three and Mary reigned,
this edifice has paddled where
the harbour spreads – with minimal
adjustment acquiesced to ebb
and flow – at midnight heard the plash
of muffled oars, and whispers terse
and anxious in the dark – has watched
the barges, low of free-board with
their lee-boards checking drift – has seen
the shipyards send their vessels out
to war.
Today, its pink and balconied
façade a cynosure along
the waterfront, it stands transformed,
this dwelling, once a bonded store,
a genius-cum-jester’s final home;
from where, a friend of princes, prince
of friends, anachronistic Uffa,
whose spirit knew no bonds, untamed
enjoyed his last encounters with
the sea.