Doctor Who
Across the world, people are gearing up to celebrate fifty years of Doctor Who. I wasn’t born in 1963 and neither was my husband. It’s odd to think about a time before either of us existed.
Tag Archives: journalling
Lessons from a Meerkat
Late one night, I watched a documentary about Meerkats. One of the adult males had been bitten by a snake during the night. The Meerkat, named Ernesto by the filmmakers, crawled out of the burrow, barely able to move. His face was black and distended, his eye swollen shut. As the creature lay panting for breath,… Read More
Living in the Past
Living in the past is a hazard of being a writer. I’m always turning my face to look behind me at my stories, my memories, my history, strung out like tin cans trailing behind a bridal car.
Foolish
If you knew what really happened, how I really feel, you would realise how stupid I am. And if I no longer believe I am smart and sensible and self-aware, then who am I?
Past Loves
→ List the names of everyone with whom you have ever been in love. Then write.
The Body
I don’t know what to do with his body. I don’t want to touch it, so I leave him there and go outside to drink my tea and drink in the morning sun. Somehow I forget about Klaus until I walk back inside and then the shock of his death hits me all over again.
Begin at the Beginning
My earliest memory has been grafted on to my mind like a branch on to a tree. There is no way I could remember my first moments of life, nor the day, thirteen days later when I was adopted.
I kissed a girl [not]
I’ve never kissed a girl, touched another vulva or another breast. Even though I went to an all girls’ school in the third form, the opportunity never came up. We were only interested in the St Josephs’ boys who rode past the school gates on the way home.
To whom much is given, much shall be required
My mother used to quote this bible verse to me all the time. She believed my “gifts from God” had to be utilised to their fullest potential. To this day, the idea of being held accountable for my talent still haunts me.
Breath & Heart
How do I create words that sound like the breath and the heart?
Not sharp and brilliant, not seen but heard.
Floating on the breath and beating with the blood in my veins.
Mowing the lawn with scrambled words
Two men mow the lawn across the road and a woman watches. An abstract short story.