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Giants of the Jungle

They conjure feelings in me. Feelings of goodness and safeness and wholeness; also of fascination and wonder. Every time I see one, the effect is healing, like a much-needed cup of tea. Those broad, benevolent leaves with their strips and perforations. A deep, peaceful recognition and a tinge of loss. Nobody knows what they doContinue reading “Giants of the Jungle”

Featured

A Day in the Life

I’m trying to draw ducks’ feet. Earlier in the day, Mum took me to the park and now I’m figuring out how to transfer what I’ve seen to the page. The curves of webbed skin between the ducks’ toes are proving quite a challenge.  Lying here on my tummy, surrounded by paper and pens, withContinue reading “A Day in the Life”

A Swan Song for the Social Fabric

I just watched The Coral’s new video, set in Birkenhead Market, and I found it heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure. As a suburban child, my first experience of Sheffield’s Sheaf Market would have been in the company of my clothes-making mum, as she led me through a maze of stalls in search of theContinue reading “A Swan Song for the Social Fabric”

Can We Fix it? Reconnecting with Soul in a Tech Dystopia.

It was a frosty December morning. I sat next to my dad in the passenger seat of our (vintage) Austin Mini and watched as he turned the ignition key. In the winter months, this part of the school run was always a moment of jeopardy, with our little car often adversely affected by the cold.Continue reading “Can We Fix it? Reconnecting with Soul in a Tech Dystopia.”

A Belated Poem for Will Shakespeare

(He was 462 on Thursday) Shaking Spears Said the bard of Stratford: ‘All the world’s a stage’ With epic dramas acted out in every human age In these interesting times, when the end seems nigh To be, or not to be an optimistic guy? Once the kings and noblemen had their jester fools To playContinue reading “A Belated Poem for Will Shakespeare”

A Rubbish Poem

Have the bin men bin?They’ve bin and goneUp before the morning shoneSwift as swallows, rarely seenIn their ravenous machine Hauling out the tubs of grimeRancid contents oozing slimeGulping down the bursting bags,A metal mouth that never gags This shadow caste that never moanThey know it falls to them aloneTo deal with what we all ignoreLestContinue reading “A Rubbish Poem”

H is for Heckling

I’ve just seen a poster for a comedy night, which included the warning ‘No heckling’. I don’t know if this was a joke, but it made me think… At the comedy nights I’ve attended or watched on a screen, it seems to me that hecklers are almost always trying to add something to the show.Continue reading “H is for Heckling”

Men of an Uncertain Age

The delivery driver put down my groceries on the front step. “There you go, young man”. I looked at him, he was a paunchy guy with a greying beard. It was hard to pin down his age, but he could have been as little as five years older than me. I’ve always looked young forContinue reading “Men of an Uncertain Age”

The Cloud of Unknowing

The wonder of a sleeping park, enveloped in the mist Where space and time and matter amorphously exist The air has slowed to a halt and rests without a stir The trees have ceased their shimmying and quietly concur Disembodied voices, the barking of a dog Softened by the dampened air, a muffler of fogContinue reading “The Cloud of Unknowing”

The Friend Ship

Sailing in a friend ship This craft has brought us far Through waters ever-changeable We steered it by the stars The sails have been mended It leaks from time to time The wind is unpredictable And with that, we are fine This friend ship is a galleon With many decks and rooms An ocean’s worthContinue reading “The Friend Ship”

Why Do Men Build Walls?

“The heart of the wall is where the unloveliest material resides, shoved in with less artifice to fill out the construction. But this is also a place of refuge, the voids between stones providing cover for invertebrates. As we worked, ants, beetles and spiders would often rush out from within when we disturbed their havens.”