Wayfarer, your footprints form the way – there’s nothing else. Wayfarer, there is no way. You make the way by walking. As you walk the path is formed and when you cast a glance behind you see a path that nobody will ever tread again. Wayfarer, there is no way, only the wake on the … Read more
Live at least some of your life. Start anywhere (even the future). Jump around the faded map of time. Find an object left over from a closed chapter… Colours? Shape? Texture? Smell? Scribble down whatever comes to mind. Knock that tumble of words into shape. Start writing an episode. Call yourself Freda or Fred. Tweak … Read more
The last breath escapes. Flesh goes up in smoke; bones are ground down. Scattered ash under yew tree is covered with fallen leaves. Bones deeper down, still whole, are entangled with roots. A headstone points to the sky. This grave acre where spire’s shadow falls is teeming with life. Worms work; birds perch to peck … Read more
– Did you see that guy walking barefoot in the park today? – Oh, that’s Foolscap. Paper-thin and poker-faced. – Stopped to pick up a feather, then stood staring at a rowan tree. – What, the one with nitrous oxide canisters strewn round it? – Yep. – Sure knows how to pick a scenic spot! … Read more
all of a sudden brain ripples ° words tumble onto the page and into the air ° music of language, set free by the tongue and the lung, dances in other ears °°° time chisels the marks on the page into elegant shape ° other brains ripple – other tongues sound out the music °°° … Read more
Long, long ago, there was a lollipop man in a bright yellow coat with quicksilver stripes, and a magic wand to stop the traffic. Whenever he saw a walker, he would create safe passage across the busy road, like Moses parting the Red Sea. Then he’d jump on his bike with his gardening tools, and … Read more
i trace my finger over the paper fragile map falling into square fragments green patches and lines Birmingham Greenways canal paths and streams woodland and grassland riverside willows walking and cycling criss-crossing railways roads in the background here urban wildlife comes into focus Birmingham’s secret how many glad hours i’ve spent on these routes pedals … Read more