'Perspective' by Barbara Chapman

Today, at this hour, the island is not an island; perhaps a better description would be “part-time” island. When the tide is out, as it is now, one can walk along a rocky footway to the shoulder of land hunched against the cloud-swirled backdrop of the Channel.
We tread carefully, ascending the path that encircles the dome of land like a monk’s fringe. Concrete gives way to a sandy track pocked with boulders and pebbles. A large sign warns in three languages of the danger of becoming stranded – if caught by the incoming tide you should return to the island and wait for low tide. Under no circumstances should you try to make your way back across the causeway due to dangerous currents.
I wonder how many have found themselves stranded and if they heeded the warning. If theirs was not one of the three languages – French – English – German – perhaps they did try to outrun the waves. Common sense would surely dictate caution and therefore staying put, but then common sense is a highly uncommon thing. A circle of burnt earth in a dip on the side of the hill suggests that someone has spent time here. Sheltered from the wind, this nook affords some protection. The wind is a permanent resident; the sea birds give it a voice, the drawn-out ululation of eternal hunger.
We round a bend; before us blue plummets to green-grey as sky melds with sea to create a canvas of spectacular proportions. In the foreground, perched on the very edge of the cliff and projecting out over the ocean is a structure that, for a few seconds, evades all reason as my mind scrambles to understand what it is. Ah, thank goodness for the sign! What we are seeing is the tomb of Chateaubriand. Hard to top this as the final resting place of a great writer of the Romantic period!
“Chateaubriand” - isn’t that a steak?
I let a sea-washed silence flow into the wake of this enquiry from my companion.
I’m sure I’ve seen it on a menu. That’s right. The place we ate at yesterday evening. Remember?
I nod.
Time, tide and appetite wait for no man.
We continue on our way.