Birtheve

On the eve of my birthday, I wake up from a dream about death. A body had been buried in a pond; maybe I had killed the person and put it there. But now I was part of the search team trying to find it and bring it back up, since the decomposition of the...

Friday 26 February 2021. Evening

The mornings are lighter, the evenings are longer. The load might be the same, but I'm getting stronger. I've returned to the river. It's the earliest I've ever started my regular swims in the year. It's cold of course, but refreshing in a way that will start to dispel as spring brings warmth and summer....

Tuesday 9 July 2019. Morning

It starts to rain as I leave my clothes on the bench and in my swimming costume walk to the step ladder into the river. The grey sky and the green of the trees leaning in over it like a rib-cage render the rippled surface the same colours, so the sky is as immersive as...

Sunday 14 April 2019. Evening

The steam searches its way to cold surfaces like fairies dancing at dawn. The window, the taps, my water glass are moist with it. The water in the tub is just on the too hot side of comfortable when I dip my foot, which is my perfect bathing temperature. It will take my body a...