‘stirring Dull roots with spring rain.’ T S Eliot Rude, splayed fingers of unstoppable purpose, intruding indecently into the shy atmosphere. Not taking no for an answer, they displace the proprieties, lifting the flower-nub up, [… read more ]
My dad is a big man A big man’s-man sports fan He shows his affection with food Keeping the dish a secret from me until the last minute So he can see my delight at [… read more ]
I was born here, under Maggie’s rule. Living beneath her Spitting Image character hanging from a telecom wire overhead. The youth here knew hate before they knew love and everybody hated the Iron Lady. Everything [… read more ]
At George’s, we see the ferries coming in, huge trays of light buoyant in the dark blue evening, floating out of the night towards the palm trees, towards the young drunk spraycanning the pavement, his [… read more ]
Again I leave the ward and look out through the windscreen at the bluebells on the grass, again see Sister’s eyes. She’d thought I knew that if you went home it would be to pass [… read more ]
Late autumn in Lavender Hill and I perched in her kitchen, a Frigidaire to my back. Florrie Mac rolled the fruit with her back to the Belling. Pigeons flirted on rooftops, and the distance between [… read more ]
(Blackberry brambles can be stripped of their thorns and used to fashion baskets and other useful artefacts). The first man clips off her thorns one by one, turns her placid and tractable, cuts her [… read more ]
Citadel of crows: dagger-beaked above the motorcycles ranked out front of Mick’s monster burger van. Hop. Skip. Peck up what’s left over; their bare-faced opportunism rising and landing between the wheels. This ridge is [… read more ]
Not like that time at West Wittering, a gaggle of teenage girls, enough matches to model a battleship. Each sparked a flicker of yellow soon extinguished; a barbecue that wouldn’t burn. Eventually we got it [… read more ]
A dark evening, a friend calls, tells of his brother-in-law’s funeral, says, did you know there are five police cars in your cul-de-sac, one officer opened the boot of a car, gave out rifles. The [… read more ]
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