Feet, Ice and Bubbles

Here’s this morning’s poem. It’s certainly not my idea of a good party, but there it is.

Meditation 183

You celebrate your arrival
into the land
you’ve waited forty years
to enter

with a mass circumcision.
Really, if it were me,
I’d have stuck
to champagne and roses.


Must admit to having a wave of Monday gloom today, groan. I could happily spend all day sleeping, but I suspect that won’t be the case. Ah well. Instead I’ve spent most of the time sorting out emails and fiddling around with minutes. That indeed is my great skill. Hey ho.

So thank goodness for reflexology at lunchtime – an hour of bliss in a world of greyness. Or maybe that’s to do with the rain? I’m not really sure. However, I was much cheered by the arrival of Polish chocolates from the Deputy Dean – they’re a combination between marshmallow and jelly surrounded by chocolate –and far nice than I’m making them sound, I must say.

This afternoon also cheered up somewhat as Student Advice had a tea party and a new IT package presentation, so I went along for scones, grapes and tea. Bliss! The package looked pretty good too, if it’s taken on – though the amount I really know about what goes on outside my own office could be written on a postage stamp and still have room for a rewrite of War and Peace. Anyway, after work, I popped in to see Gladys after work – it’s her birthday on Friday so I took a card and some non-Polish chocolates (she’s a real chocoholic) but I’m not convinced she really knew what was happening. Still, at least she was livelier than usual which is something.

Meanwhile the lovely people at Alma Books are going to send me Sarah Stonich’s The Ice Chorus as I’m keen to review it for Vulpes Libris, so I shall look forward to that. I’ve also written the first draft of my Vulpes review of Vanessa Gebbie’s Words from a Glass Bubble, and it’s been fascinating to see what’s come out of that: an interesting writer indeed. Keeping to the subject of literature, I’ve written a poem about childhood and apples. As you do. And tonight, I’m looking forward to the programme on TV about Byron. That should be fun – especially as Rupert Everett is presenting it. The ideal combination, in my opinion. Oh, and I’ve had another short story rejection, sigh – so I’ll try and send that back out somewhere before it all gets too disheartening. Lordy, but I do really need to get some sleep.

Today’s nice things:

1. Poetry
2. Reflexology
3. Tea parties
4. Chocolates
5. Books
6. Working on the Vulpes review
7. TV.

Anne Brooke - reviewing for Britain
Vulpes Libris - a foxy look at books