And then, one day, he was gone. And all his tubes were gone, and his tissues, And his petulant but forgivable demands. And she could clean behind his chair: Cobwebs, dropped spoons, creased and ancient magazines. She could go off … Continue reading
We spent the weekend in a field in Warwickshire, learning. Wouldn’t it be lovely if university courses consisted of living in the open air, eating halloumi and pomegranate wraps, and attending engaging and interactive lectures where the seating was bales … Continue reading
There’s pain behind those vacant eyes As brick by brick the walls come down Their guts spewed out and packed away To empty shops across the town. Ragged doorways, toothless screaming Barred by scaffold, gagged by tarp. Urban renewal rips … Continue reading
from The Mask of Anarchy, by Percy Bysshe Shelley ‘Rise like Lions after slumber In unvanquishable number— Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you— Ye are many—they are few.’
On Sunday My muscles were pounded Until they crackled and spluttered And sprung back into tight coils And at mile 12, one of them went pop. My fat thighs Rubbed a raw arc of pain Notional until I stopped running, … Continue reading
Walk with me Along this grass-lined corridor In our most businesslike self-wicking suits And expensive boots, Discussing such important matters As the sound that swans make when they fly And the exact colour of a bowl of water In … Continue reading
It’s 8am. Pete and I are having breakfast in bed. Bernard is on a year 6 residential trip. We are enjoying it way too much. We were talking about how old and stupid the cat is getting, and somehow get … Continue reading
A few years ago I was working in a theatre (not as glamorous as it sounds, I was just teaching an antenatal class there), and I spent some time browsing a photographic exhibition by a mother who had hiked the … Continue reading