There he is again. Not a man but his shadow. Fading by the passing of time. Winter or Summer, he always wears the same coat. It is a deep red and it must be wool as it hasn’t worn down, not in twenty years. His beard hasn’t either. It is grey now, when it was […]
moreThere’s a benefit to moving house: you discover things you’d already long forgotten. An essay you had once written about bridal burnings in India. Wow, you think. Wow. Did I write that? I also found a book. It’s called: “About consolation and sadness.” I remembered there was something special about that book. I opened it […]
moreMy son wanted to paint something, so I put a piece of paper on the table, squirted some blotches of paint onto a plate. My son changed his mind and played with something else instead. This blank page and paint just sat there on the table for a while. Somehow, it felt wrong to throw […]
moreDramatically speaking, confronting your main character with a choice between “the lesser of two evils” is a powerful tool. We all remember Sophie’s Choice. The other day, I asked my haptonomist whether I’d made the right choice by separating from my husband. I had expected him to embark on some abstract theory about the concept […]
moreTwo drug addicts – a man and a woman, mid forties – hollered at me from across the street. “Hey you!” said the woman. She was wearing a black cap, black bomber jacket, black jeans and various gold necklaces. Skinny legs, bright red lipstick, a super-sized beer. How did I know they were drug addicts? […]
moreI was putting books in my cupboard and trying to organize them in some way. The problem being: my books are hard to organize. I read books the way I watch films, in no particular order and with no specific aim. I can enjoy Cunningham as much as Coetzee, and no that doesn’t mean I’ve […]
moreMy dear little boy. How you rant and rave, how you cry and scream. You say things like “stupid mum” and “I hate you mum” and “I don’t want to be with you, I want to be with Dad.” You punch my bottom, pinch my thighs, you bight my arm. And then you bury your […]
moreA woman smokes on her balcony. I can see her and like to think she can’t see me. I hardly ever sit, and now that I am sitting – simply for the mere act of sitting – I look out the window at her. God do I wish I was smoking that cigarette. Short drags, […]
moreLittle boy. You are too young to feel shame, too young to take blame; blame for the tears. Too old to cry, too old to lie; lie about fears. Little girl. You are too young to be pretty, too young to feel pity; pity for this world. Too old to shine, too old to whine; […]
moreThe world keeps spinning. And sometimes, you feel like you’re not a part of it. There’s two things you can do. Panic, which is what your ego is telling you to do. Or be still. Ask yourself whether you really want to be a part of your ego’s world, or prefer to be in yours. […]
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