lunch on tuesday

Only
certain people
will appreciate how
delightful it is to
discover ancient, decorated gingerbread men,
framed on a stranger’s dining-room wall.

What
does the
Jack of Spades
hold in his hand?

What was once a spear
has evolved into a strange thing
that defies deciphering, all because generations of
artisans reproduced their predecessors’ work, without referencing the
original sources: an elaborate game of visual Chinese Whispers.

do
you remember
times gone by
when we had to
make plans in advance and
keep to them because
there were no
mobile phone
excuses?

what
good are
road maps when
there are so many
uncharted side streets to explore?

if
only we
always knew in
which direction to look….

It’s
New York:
you can’t tell
people not to honk.
Honking is in the constitution,
surely. It’s a way of life.

you’re
what? four
maybe? you’re walking
on your tippy toes
pink top, leopard print trousers
you’re looking down at your feet
not concerned with anything but your next step.

You
stood behind
me in the
drinks queue at Addenbrooke’s.
We were both waiting for
a cup of coffee with milk.

Why were you so impatient?
Was there really a
need to make
yourself so
large?

i would like to think of myself as
someone who tends to doodle geometric shapes.
but, hand me a multicoloured pen
and i draw the same
daisies that i’ve drawn
since i was
five years
old.

It
has come
to my attention
that part of aging
seems to involve watching one’s
body turn against itself. I disapprove.
To whom do I write to complain?