Tag Archives: everyday life
Daily Reset
“…dirt [is] matter out of place.” (Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger) When the day’s settling is done, I seek order in domestic chaos, restoring categories I never previously held: that these trains belong together and those trucks do not; while this bus driver does not fit that car, nor does that book belong in theContinue reading “Daily Reset”
A Mindlessness Prayer
These days when all of the socks are odd and all your thoughts are scrambled eggs and, try as you might to talk to God, nothing much makes any sense, for the rubbish awaits in noisome piles, the bills are due and so’s the tax and the laundry measures its depth in miles and theContinue reading “A Mindlessness Prayer”
This Mess
I stubbed my toe on a London bus;it stood in the doorway, just under us. And by the door a bright Tonka trucklay just where an unsuspecting limb got stuck. And in the night a train might strayfar from its tracks into my way; and you, dear you, might show up rightwhen I would ratherContinue reading “This Mess”
Morning Miniature
The dishes you will always have with you
and the laundry, piled upin crevices and corridors as though to say,“You can hide me, but you cannot do without me.”Toys underfoot and books scattered wideamongst other toddler treasures:a measuring cup, a rooster,a brochure considered la mode beforesome other fancy flitted through the growing mind.Some things are permanent, likedishes, some new –an Amen! after grace.UnsettledContinue reading “The dishes you will always have with you”
All the Names
In hard rubbish week, while the street is lined with broken couches and abandoned TVs, someone has shredded a phone book, leaving white and yellow pages like autumn leaves all down Grandview Street. Some pages have drifted into gardens, some line the pavement or the nature strip. Some look like a wild animal has goneContinue reading “All the Names”
Advent 3: Gaudete in the Suburbs
Rejoice! But first: there’s the stockings to fill. Some products may be unavailable in stores, but this one ships before Christmas. Rejoice at same-day dispatch; rejoice that you’ve met your Kris Kringle requirements. When the presents are bought and the turkey is basting, when the family’s sleeping, rejoice.
Advent 2: Forgetting
I missed a day. Too busy with carols and attempts to put my son to sleep, I slept that second Advent Sabbath night forgetting to rest, forgetting to write. Rest slips past us now. Today I forgot also to drink water, to eat. Now waiting in queues I regret this forgetting. The time we saveContinue reading “Advent 2: Forgetting”
“Do not despise the day of small things”
On days of frustration, beware the futile fury that burns when queues are as long as red tape and parking spaces are few. On days when nothing’s achieved, beware the muted rage that despises the stranger for taking your place in a lane or a line, that resents the day for passing. On these dogContinue reading ““Do not despise the day of small things””
The Consolations of Writing 