invisible heart scars itch
the stitches saved time
I’m fine now
I’m fine
Perhaps
There is nobody there I know
You are not there I know
But in the darkness I see your face
and reach for you
Inside my chest I feel your warmth
and reach for you
I reach for you
Perhaps tonight
Perhaps
The trees pump
All summer the trees pump the rust-red up through roots, trunks, branches. Now, as it reaches their leaves, they heavily, heavenly, fall.
She made him laugh
She made him laugh, a good sign. Then her words touched his heart and made him cry. He wiped away his tears and smiled in the mirror. Yes.
“Happy birthday to me”
He stood in the rain holding a tray with six glasses, singing “Happy birthday to me” as the glasses slowly filled.
Waiting room
Watching slow blood drip can be relaxing. I move my foot a little and the flower on the waiting room floor grows dotted petals. I have been here for three hours so I decide to fill in the spaces between the dots. My picture will be complete by the time they call me. I’m betting they will call me in just under an hour so they do not break any rules.
But after three and a half a cleaner shouts at me and wipes the floor beneath my foot into a sticky red veil. She’s right – I wouldn’t bleed on my own floor like that. But my foot is still bleeding so there is little I can do.
At three minutes short of four hours (I was so, so close) I am called to sit on a different chair, this time around a corner. Hurrah! No sanctions!
Two more hours later, my foot is still oozing – then three stitches in less than two minutes and I can limp home.
I avoid the angry cleaner on my way out.
Crowd
people
people people
people people people
people people panic people people
people people people
people people
people
Blood money
Jac mixed each drop with amber, pulled and twisted with pliers and a knife forming teardrop red pearls. She would show them blood money.
Book confessions
- Have you ever damaged a book?
Minor damage only. During the week I usually only read in bed and if I give up on a book it can end up thrown across the bedroom. If they hit the wardrobe at an angle, they usually glance off, but if it’s a direct spine-on hit, the damage is visible.
- Have you ever damaged a borrowed book?
Never that I remember. Someone must really like a book to recommend it, let alone lend it, so that would be unforgiveable, as would damaging a library book.
- How long does it take you to read a book?
It depends on the book and on where I am and what I am doing. Earlier in the year I took 6 weeks to finish a book, while when I was holiday I was reading one a day or every two days.
- Books you haven’t finished?
Too many to mention. Life is too short. I always give a book a fair chance though. And the important thing to remember, as in any relationship, it could be me, it could be the book, or it could be a combination.
- Hyped/Popular books you didn’t like?
By the time I read books they are usually well past their hyper period – my to-be-read shelves are groaning, especially after the Edinburgh Book Festival.
- Is there a book you wouldn’t tell anyone you were reading?
I can’t imagine one.
- How many books do you own?
Most of the shelves in the flat are double-lined with books, the ones in the rear alphabetically ordered, the ones in front piled up in ‘when-bought’ stacks.
- Are you a fast/slow reader?
Fast. I spent some time in hospital when I was young and started reading a book a day. My parents could not quite believe it.
- Do you like to buddy read?
I am not sure what that means but I do like talking about books with others.
- Do you read better in your head/out loud?
I do not often read out loud. I did take part in Iraq Out Loud though, where the Chilcot report was read out 24/7 (iraqoutloud.com). That was a fascinating experience.
- If you were only allowed to own one book, what would it be and why?
None rather than one. If you are going to be extreme, go all the way.
My summer is ending
My summer is ending
and the red leaves shiver
before the fall.
My summer is ending
I see your spring arrive
fresh green from white.
My summer is ending
Your faces are sun-shot
sparkling futures.
And the sun and the warmth
of near cloudless sky
my summer is ending.
simonsalento 