Lust and learning – a reflection on Stoner by John Williams
I am not often moved to write about a book I have read, not in this environment in any case. However, I have just finished in two days what I… Continue Reading
Breaking The Silence
My annual Christmas purdah from social media and emails has given rise to some interesting thoughts this year. On Christmas Eve, I puzzled my family by coming out with a… Continue Reading
New writing draft
He was a sprawl of a man. In his chair. In his bed. On his feet. On his back. And today he was staring, staring at the wall, through his… Continue Reading
Fighting the black dogs
I spent most of yesterday evening, last night, and today fighting against the double broadside of unwanted and frustrating physical ailments and an attack by not one black dog but… Continue Reading
This
The last few mornings, tired,I have crawled across the bed into the space you left,To wallow in your warmth, in your scent,For just a few momentsUntil I hear you downstairs,Rattling,… Continue Reading
History
The stars shift. Orion glowers.The Pole Star wanes and stutters,Extinguishes a gap in time,Bridges an nth dimension,Red and pale. The night shivers behind the moon, Its dominant light nothing but… Continue Reading
The Foreign Country – for Oscar on his 21st birthday
The morning, This morning,Seems the same until the sunFalls in through the window at a differentAngle, and life becomesA foreign country. All you know is what was, Never what is… Continue Reading
A Universal – for Charlotte on her birthday
How do I grab seventeen years of words And wrap them into one pageWhen I can’t remember each detailOf that day you came to lifeAnd we shared cold toast and… Continue Reading
An Experiment
Some people have been busy telling me that everyone is tired of writing reviews. So be it. I can understand that. And it doesn’t just apply to book reviews. There’s… Continue Reading
A Question of Class
We passed the thieves on the road,Our hands full of silver,Their faces gold in the dying sun.We were faster than they,Horses against donkeys,Petrol against diesel,Honesty against truth. We pretend. A… Continue Reading