Category Archives: Travel

Past Euston, 09:50

37 of us shuttled along as we sit or stand with our regular doors. They are the ones with which we enter Thursday morning in Zone 1. They are the ones where we could change here for Victoria Line. Too late to exit for Morden via Bank. Your regular doors can be dangerous. You couldContinue reading “Past Euston, 09:50”

Behind the Brightness: Poems from a Mystical Decade

Shining in Brightness, my first book of selected poems, documents the hopeful years of 18 to 30. I hold a special affection for this creative scrapbook. It is a nostalgic artefact of a time period I declared ‘a mystical decade‘.

This morning’s request

It’s a bright day, just the right day to expect you to fly home. When you land, hey – give me a call – and we can let our banter roam. — A short and simple request on behalf of all who have ever endured the irritation of long-distance romance. This is also the finalContinue reading “This morning’s request”

You can give a heart on any day

This handmade heart hangs from a nail above my desk. I don’t remember on which day it was given to me, yet it carries more sentimental meaning than any Valentine’s token I’ve ever received. This heart has shadowed many of my poetry journeys. It has travelled with me from Cape Town to San Diego, to South America, toContinue reading “You can give a heart on any day”

The Benefits of 320 Kicks

Sixteen years of stiffness ease into front-splits right side and left. “Now you’re showing off.” The yielding body laughs. It remembers how much more it once could do. — Recently, we’ve been doing a lot of limbering up and stretching in classes. During my adolescence, I took ballet lessons three times a week. Perhaps IContinue reading “The Benefits of 320 Kicks”

Productivity Times Four

It’s been a busy two weeks on the writing front. In addition to preparing two articles, one on the gap year in my twenties and another on overseas work experience in my thirties, I’ve continued to make the regular poetry posts on this blog. Item three is the most exciting. On Tuesday, my second bookContinue reading “Productivity Times Four”

At the right age

People start to ask questions they really have no right to pose   At a point, they expect you to be studying. Let it be known: a non-graduate works shifts and packs plastic bags.   Since 2008, so do graduates with four degrees. But people will still ask, What do you do? They mean areContinue reading “At the right age”

Genuine

When it is from deep inside and through my eyes, that crinkled nose – my truest smile. — For some time I was a regular attendee of a writing group. I often presented very short poems (some of which were to feature in ‘Shining in Brightness‘, my first volume and others which are earmarked forContinue reading “Genuine”