They ceremoniously tied the knot, on a sunny afternoon, in St Augustine’s. She never dreamt that it would come undone. But, as the months passed, she became unraveled and her nerves frayed. Violence was always close at hand. And foot. Today, she had gathered her tools of defence; a stool[…]
Mum whispered, ‘Uncle John will be staying with us. He’s lost his way.’ I decided to help him find where he was going. I gift wrapped a map for him. Then, days later, taped my compass back together and showed him how to use it. Last week, I bought him[…]
He reaches across my face, to accept the drink. His muscular, hairless arm is very close to my lips. I gently blow a warm breath over it and innocently close my eyes. Settling back, we share the sticky arm rest. A gentle push marks my territory. The lack of resistance[…]
When I moved here, you were very small. Not able to reach the open lock on the gate. Now, you tower over me, leaving me in your shade. A hidden, incurable disease has suddenly turned your height into a danger. It has been left to me to bring you down[…]
Aesop sits motionless; watching. The fox creeps towards the vines. The frustrated mammal fails to reach the juicy reward. A fallen grape is deliberately ignored. With its tail held high, the fox disappears into the tall grass. Aesop wonders if there’s a new fable here, but decides that foxes aren’t[…]
Warm baths on cold nights. Sea flowing between sunburnt toes. Spraying siblings with a hose. Catching minnows in the canal. Drifting on park ponds. Bombing friends at the lido. Wild swimming in northern lakes. Today, these former joys have evaporated. Wading through the rising slurry, I splash my way from[…]
I’ve prepared this letter so many times. My head is blasted by draughts. During endless night-time silences, I find the perfect words to convey my regrets and sorrow. Tears stain my pillow. Yet, in the morning, my fingers remain untouched by ink. Those midnight phrases, like dreams, fade into an[…]
The priest referred to him as the ‘Mirror Music Man.’ ‘A talented person, who took popular songs, reversed a few notes and created new, unforgettable melodies.’ He held up a phone and pressed play. ‘This was his last masterpiece – David had taken The Beatles ‘Yesterday’, flipped a couple of[…]
A recipe for disaster. Take a spicy, young couple. Slowly sprinkle in two pieces of well seasoned baggage. Smother with a large debt, line with bank statements and layer with a redundancy notice. Stir in generous amounts of undiluted alcohol. Dust with an unpeeled lie. Grind in an affair. Bring[…]
It is clear that your mother has been back again, with another bunch of cheap flowers and her roll of Sellotape. It is not the original lamppost. The council had quickly removed the remnants of that one. The replacement one is now mummified by your mother’s tape. Scarves and shirts have[…]