I come from the north, From grey harling, drizzled crags and scree. Dandelion and burdock. Engage low gear now. Bacon for breakfast. Breaking in your boots. Passing places and bloody tourists. The library’s parquet gleam. Peewits and feral cats. Toasted arse against the Aga. Wellies and broken veins. Creosote on the fence. Shirt […]
But first…
Today I’m going to write a poem, but first I’ll pitch a tent, Today I’m going to reach my creative potential, but first I’ll arrange a guinea pig funeral. Today I’m going to experiment with self-expression, but first I’ll find lost football boots… Under a bed, with the distracting dust balls. So I write a […]
A quotidian quarrel
What am I going to write about?
Well, write something. Go on. You’ve got nothing else to do. A soundtrack of puppy snores and rain. But there’s a problem. The ideas have fled with the sunshine. Where there used to be jostling dozens muttering at me, there is bleached rock and silence. Maybe a cup of tea would help… Or an actual […]
Things I learned today – Birthdays, basics and bosoms
Covid, house moves, sons hitting landmark birthdays, the loss of my Booths card… times that are unforgettable to the point of interesting. 2020. There have been surprises at every level, not least my own capacity to be jolted off the tedious tramlines of middle age. And with change, as someone wise may have commented, there […]