Where’s that? Indian Summer Indian giver Bermuda shorts Glasgow kiss Chinese whispers Not for all the tea in China Chinese Burn Dutch courage Going Dutch Dutch uncle Double Dutch Road to Damascus New York minute French kiss French letter French knickers French onion French horn Sent to Coventry Brussels sprout Coals to Newcastle German […]
Autumn term – 100 words
Autumn term New shoes Pencil cases Scratchy shirts with names on them Who’s my teacher? Will my friends still like me? What is that at the bottom of the bag, from before A lifetime ago Different teacher: different world A world when it ran like a machine A bad-tempered machine Homework, gym kit, lunches, […]
Indian Summer – 100 words
Indian Summer Russet rustles in the trees – impatient, simmering Bracken starts to hunch Defeat on the air Flocks gather, skeins depart Tiny cellophane wings insist – buzzing furious insects, reprieved, make hay, drink blood, Fruit falls, wormy soft Tractors stripe the fields Fluffy seeds scatter and drift Landscape blurs, like old photos album-trapped […]
Someone died – 100 words
Muffled – 100 words
Muffled Wrapped in activity. Silenced by lists. Unbalanced by notifications. Paralysed by piles that teeter – underpinned by hurry. Tormented by ticking time. Bewildered and frowning… how can it possibly now? Already. Unready. Too late. What was progress? Pursued by the howling of regret. Scrabbling, crabbily for a foot hold in the slippery rock, tugged […]




