From the steps at city hall, the market square resembles a tin of sweet wrappers, brightly striped in sunshine and glistening in rain. A walk between the stalls makes me sea-sick: I roll down the lurching incline, a sometime sailor, bantering with Norwich traders over fresh fruit, fish and flowers; exotic spices, eggs and cheese; […]
Tag: Tuesday Poetics
One Fine Day
There’s a sparkling space between orchestra and clear soprano voice, a tragic butterfly in a bell jar, bright wings shimmering before she’s pinned. Puccini’s signature violins swirl and an incidental flute curls, a ship’s smoke on the far horizon, as Cio-Cio-San’s dream spills: one fine day, she’ll see Pinkerton climbing up the hill. The voice, […]
Thinking of Prague
A dense morning fog hides statues flanking the river on both sides and wraps the castle in a shroud, hiding its glory from the small crowd that leaves the medieval town to cross the Gothic bridge of stone. We dodge each oncoming tourist, each phantom emerging from the mist, make our way to a coffee […]
Waiting for the Wind
The sky above the fields is patched with clouds; the pale and wild blue yonder gapes through ragged holes, wrestling with purple mist to peep, making promises it may never keep. All the while, the green hill’s spine is stretched out on the far horizon, where it meets with heaven smiling at the steadfast grass […]
Elemental
Oh, ageing lioness! moth-eaten and tooth-sore, you’re restrained in a cage. You have lost your fierce roar and the fire in your eyes has burnt down to embers. The lush savanna grass turned to dust in your claws. The monkey from your back picks gristle from your jaws, and sings a lullaby each night between […]
Theoretically
We harvested the fruits of muddy shores, watched millions of diamond sparkles on the crests of ocean waves before we turned our eyes to space. It startled us and left us wanting to know more about what lies beyond the darkness, titillated and tempted to explore. Still we must overcome hurdles while our feet are […]
Ghost of a Chance
What is this twilight, this world of shadow? Neither day nor night, we name it limbo, the crumbling ledge on the fiery edge of hell. We think we know it well, and yet the glow of hellfire is tempting compared with the empty darkness of uncertainty. Anything to stave a spiritual void beyond the grave. […]
