I
cambridge snow
melts on contact with starbucks
and james brown
II
bacon espresso
orange clouds winter sky
train to cambridge
III
woman carefully
applying her eyeliner -
train hits a bump
IV
the speeches begin -
alone in the garden
with tea and scones
V
five miles of tunnel
the traffic jam hides my voice
singing Guns & Roses
VI
pines mountains snow
calm Lake Tahoe untouched
pines mountains snow
VII
aeroplane window
are those tiny cricketers?
howzat!
VIII
under a jumper
dreaming of thunder and rain -
my college sofa
1 comment:
A cocktail, of various years and places, strung together into a single journey...
I: Not even cold New England snows can stand up to the sheer heat of vintage Brown. I was in my slippers, because the Starbucks had a back door into my hotel. Customers coming in through the front door were not wearing slippers, but were wearing a layer of snow - which duly melted in contact.
II: Real Cambridge, this time - a trip to practice with a colleague from the Old Country, for an interview in which we were both playing on the same side. It was dawn, in midwinter, and the tastes and sights of that morning are with me still.
III: A train to London. So careful, the lady, and so futile, her actions! Zoink! Eyeliner everywhere.
IV: After arrival, at an event in Manchester - I found myself in an Orangery, having their afternoon tea. The speeches eventually began in the conference centre behind me, but the tea was so good, I had to listen from afar, alone with the garden.
V: Leaving a meeting in Beijing, the usual Beijing talk-radio was suddenly interrupted (as if it were a news bulletin) by Guns and Roses. I wonder if the taxi driver knew the words?
VI: On the way home from a conference in south-east USA, the winding mountain road seemed comprised entirely of pines, and snow. The sun came over the ridge, making me wish I had a camera. Haiku are just as good for such moments.
VII: Little England, replete with little cricketers! Home in every sense of the word, viewed from above.
VIII: After arrival, a few days later, from a tiring trip to Malaysia, and I have a cold. I take advantage of a few moments between meetings to have a lie down - "Thunderspace" plays on my ipad, which is a series of recorded rainstorms to help one sleep.
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