alarm May 10, 2025

memory

sharon stayed with me last night, slept in, woke up late and rushed to the bathroom as soon as i had returned to bed, ostensibly to cuddle, and laid there for too long as their alarm, presumably to tell them they are late for work, began to sound, and it took me back to the time i had stayed up all night with lizzie, retired disappointingly to selena’s bedroom, slept for a few hours before, creature of habit, having to get up unreasonably early and, not wishing to just sneak out, hung around in the house for hours, an almost certainly bad decision that intensified when her flatmate’s phone, which was in the living room next to me, began to sound its alarm, and i sat paralysed, not knowing what to do, probably not to switch it off, in case it was quite necessary, yet it seemed to continue on for further hours, and if i’d had any sense i would have just run out the door and never looked back, but i didn’t because i was already now too invested in the series of bad decisions, i was fully committed and it would only get worse from there, and how it got worse . . . .

camberwick May 7, 2025

reflection

i want to cry every time i hear the intro to camberwick green . . . not the first bit with the slowly intoned xylophone, but the next part with the sound of the key unwinding and the musical box. i don’t know who today would ever think to make such a thing let alone for a child, to make you wait for a full 30 seconds in anticipation while an inanimate object slowly turns on screen. whatever happens next will only disappoint. had my first flute lesson with alison today. nothing was what i expected. find myself stuttering more than usual today but it didn’t seem to be a problem during the lesson, which is a good sign. i don’t know why my brain seems to get stuck on the easy stuff like . . . what’s your name, phone number, would you like a receipt. it’s like i panic, because who could even imagine screwing that one up.

cohere May 6, 2025

reflection

slightly better today as i guess the b12 goes to work. still felt like death this morning. trying to write but i’m not sure why. i have nothing in me. i can’t even make the words make sense anymore. they don’t stick together. not just writing but reading too. i’ll make the sounds in my head but the meaning just won’t come. what are you supposed to do with that? walked to the nursery at noon again in the full sun, no hat. maybe i wanted to burn a little. had lunch at por que non? with my dalmatian campanula. was a darn sight better company than most. finished flow (2024) in the bath which i suppose is appropriate.

sick dog May 5, 2025

reflection

feeding myself today like a sick dog, chicken, rice, sweet potato. i noticed that the monarda had sprung right back….conversely the daphne is wilting in protest, having been forcefully removed from the earth, transplanted. hope she picks up. did my usual walk/run round by 71st. almost stopped to admire some curious blue flower, but i think it may have been aquilegia. had girl dinner consisting of stale crackers, hummus, fava beans. watched some more of flow and it’s stressing me out. can we not have to worry constantly about survival for even 5 minutes. more successfully ignored today the persistent feeling that i am dying, though makes me think i should prepare for that eventuality anyway. i don’t even have a will. can’t even decide who i want to take care of. it’s all of them i guess.

the glass hotel 🔒 Jul 30, 2024

dreams

lillias 🔒 May 7, 2024

dreams

jessie May 7, 2024

dreams

. . . . in which i am with jessie on an old british railways train. the seating is absurd like a restaurant booth and jessie is sat in the corner. she is pregnant and wearing dungarees and i am helping her in and out of them as we can’t decide if they are the right way round or not. a passerby asks us about them but we are unable to say anything about them until we have decided. they appear to be made out of some silly material like black vinyl and they want to stay flat, like they are padded or filled with some kind of foam. jessie asks me to take a picture of her with her phone and i oblige. it is awkward because she wants it to look coupley like i am taking the place of her husband. she urges me to pose her in this way and i decide to rest her feet on my knee and arrange my legs at an angle that seems pleasing, especially with my socks which i think are striped. reminds me of baby reindeer. i start taking photos but getting the right composition feels impossible, i move around in the space available but something always seems to be in the way, notably the head of wickie, a sickly parrot. there is the suggestion of some repressed sexual abuse but i can’t name it.. . . .

scrambled Apr 30, 2024

reflections

it is hard to make scrambled egg these days because it reminds me of sitting down as if to breakfast with my dad on the other end of eight time zones away who would routinely comment, ooh that looks nice, what you having, and wishing i could share it with him, knowing he would get nothing like that at home, wouldn’t have had a decent breakfast in years