Skeleton woods and a plethora of artists

So, I've come to the end of Deuteronomy in my morning meditations and here's my poem about that:

Meditation 176: The Death of Moses

All those years
of travel,

grief and hope
end like this:

a long, slow view
of the land

you’ve waited for,
tasting cool mountain air

on your tongue,
the whispers of God

at your ear
and the darkness to come.


Poor Moses - forty years of travel and doing his best, and he never quite manages to set foot in the Promised Land. It always gets me, that does. As you can probably see. Anyway, onto the Book of Joshua tomorrow, and all his terrors about being the Number Two forced into becoming the actual Leader. When he evidently wasn't really sure he wanted to, poor man. Ah well.

Literary news for today is that my flash fiction piece, The Skeleton Wood, is now up at the Every Day Fiction website and getting rather mixed reactions. Which I imagine must prove I'm doing something right, ho ho. One or two readers seem to be enjoying it anyway, which is also nice.

Anyway, we've graced the doors of the church this morning - some marvellous hymn choices and I do always enjoy the monthly 1662 service - it's like an ocean washing over you and there's no need to think. Bliss. We decided to go to Petworth House for lunch and a wander round. Actually lunch wasn't that great really, but that was probably a good thing - to be honest, my stomach still isn't brilliant and I'm only okay when I don't eat, sigh ... Good for the diet, maybe, but bad as a life plan. I'm hoping it sorts itself out soon. Mind you, it was lovely to go round the actual house - I forget how much bloody good art it has. Everywhere you look there's a Turner, or a Van Dyck or a Bosch - so much so that it's almost embarrassing. The sculptures are great as well, but I have to admit that on the whole I prefer paint.

This afternoon, I have cleared out Rupert in preparation for the arrival of Miranda on Thursday. I actually think the new car might be Miranda Louise - and interestingly will be my first ever female car and my first car with more than one name. All the others I've had have been male with one name only. As it were. I don't know how I know she's a gal, but she most definitely is. Maybe she'll improve my image? You never know. And I've done another couple of chapter edits of Hallsfoot's Battle and am now just over halfway through Edit One. Ah, there'll be an Edit Two and an Edit Three as well before I even think about submitting it anywhere, so it's still all to play for.

This week's haiku is:

Rain freshens the air,
washes the present away.
History lives again.

Today's nice things:

1. Poetry
2. The flash fiction publication
3. Church
4. Art at Petworth House
5. Car preparation
6. Editing
7. Haikus.

Anne Brooke - enjoying a typical Sunday of skeletons and art ...