coming back

I say your name

again. It is a key, unlocking all the dark,

so death swings open its hinge.

I hear a bird begin its song,

piercing the hour, to bring first light this Christmas dawn,

a gift, the blush of memory

carol ann duffy: over

picking pictures

reno's almost complete and my loft looks bigger than usual-thanks to the splash of gloss white  and quiet linears that broadened the contours of space. in-between, i have also been asked to look back to the past to draw inspiration to message my home for today.

there will be mirror to further expand the space. my designer-pal has asked me to select any picture of my choice to personalise what's there. i took time and rummaged through albums spanning several decades of life and what struck me are pictures of my taken with my menagerie of pets particularly blackie and bobby and the countless birthday celebrations my family took time to organise for one another. i may eventually settle for a sepia-stained picture taken with my sisters and brother and one with my grandmother and parents. without them, i won't be here today. their continuing presence imparts a sense of certainty and comfort even as other lives swish by amid changes in this country and the small neighbourhoods that surround our lives.  i asked for a reminder to anchor these constancies together. that will be the de-cal for the door to my storeroom. below illustrates side version of a bistro kitchen leading to a tree motif where all thoughts find rest.

on the same point, this time in the classroom, i closed my final lesson with a song and poem with my classes. it brings mixed feelings as we set each other free. i stand proud looking at their fledging sense of independence as well as their willpower to succeed in the pw oral exams. i will miss them in different ways too; the late hours of discussions and hammering the WR into shape, how they made me laugh in the middle of a sinus attack, their unexpected cards of gratitude, the pokey treats, last minute consultations (which always irritate me) and the many lines of gem and wonder that help them establish their mark as good students; intellectually resistant and persistent minds who are always willing to push the extra mile in their quiet and sometimes loud but collective efforts to give their humble best. i could teach and mentor them forever...but that will not do even as we said goodbye with open hands.

in thanksgiving...