Stepping In The Salad (10)

STEPPING IN THE SALAD (10)

'The thing about walking; you can't keep on talking, especially when going up hill. We wandered in silence, our bodies in balance, our minds quite untroubled and still.

'But, the thing about speaking; it don't mean you're thinking. Ascents gave us time to reflect. 4000 feet high, with the sun in the sky, re-engaged with my dulled intellect.'

The Priestess yawned and mumbled some truism about the recuperative powers of meditation.

'It was then we began to make art,' I added.

Mapping The Territory (10)

MAPPING THE TERRITORY (10)

The woman was mad, I had nothing to lose. The world at an end; I would tell her the truth.

'It's not that I'm glum,' I began to explain. 'I just feel numb, and I so hate the rain. I wish I could say there is nought to regret, but I've lost my cagoule and I fear getting wet.'

'My dear, do not fret. I, too, loath being damp. (All my joints start to ache, and I suffer from cramp.')

I tried again (this time, speaking plain).

'Thing is . . .

'The past has a habit of haunting me, and, the future just causes anxiety. Is it so bad to wish our world come to an end; that we all go together and don't have to fend for ourselves when the ones we have loved are no more?'

'Child, your attitude's proving a terrible bore.'

'Hey, but listen up, lady, I speak from the heart. This living, this living's a terrible art. The one thing we know is we're going to die; it's our one certainty (and the thing we deny).

'If that planet hits earth then our destiny's sure; we all burn together and grief is no more.'

I decided to leave it at that.

Art Disposal

You Make The Tea. I Will Draw (No New Words)

Part Four

Then, Jane entered puberty.

She began styling her hair,

While Peter remained puerile.

But, no-one seemed to care

That he wore the same clothes 

That he'd always done.

He was a boy, after all.

He deserved to have fun.

Jane scoffed silently to herself

When Peter drew a flower.

But, despite her knowing maturity

He yet wielded sibling power.

'Here's A Tree', Says Jane, 'And Here Are Some Flowers'

Part Three

But, Jane wasn't having any of that.

She was damned

If she were going to spend 

Nine months getting fat.

So she began to compete.

Put in the hours.

Her only mistake

Was to focus on trees and flowers.

For, as feminist historians

Have rightly realised,

Flower painting is/was considered lowly,

Neither acclaimed nor highly prized.

Have A Look, Jane (Boat Man)

Part Two

It was Jane who suggested the painting,

But Peter who took centre stage.

The Artist-as-Genius kept on creating.

In contrast

The hope was

Jane would start procreating 

As soon as she came of age.

To be continued . . . .