Creative nonfiction essays
It’s been a long time since I really cried. I used to be in tears regularly, every three-and-a half weeks like clockwork, but not since my monthly cycles stopped, not since my husband started taking antidepressants. If someone close to me dies or I’m at a funeral there’ll be tears. And if, God forbid, something … Continue reading No more tears
The poppies that grew in my grandfather’s quarter-acre garden were bedraggled specimens. Each individual plant sat apart, marooned in its own patch of dull brown soil. Similarly the lemon trees dotted around the grassy lawn were like respectable neighbours who preferred to keep at arm's length. The lemon trees had the attraction of glossy leaves … Continue reading Of poppies and passionfruit
"Everywhere you go, there you are." (Attributed to Confucius) When I think about the people who matter most to me, lines of connection radiate in an uneven starburst from where I am. I find myself at the centre of a mental map, visualising distances and direction, imperceptible threads arcing to wherever they are. Fainter strands … Continue reading You are here, here you are
It’s quiet. All day and every day. Unless the radio or tv is on or there's music playing. There's scarcely any traffic, which makes walks along the foreshore a pleasure. Across the harbour lies the forbidden city, the empty cafes, the abandoned offices. Native birds are venturing further afield, though in this seaside suburb, it’s … Continue reading No ordinary quiet
Lists are not the bane of my life, far from it. Without lists, my life would be as bereft as a day without music, as soulless as a world with books, and as empty as a fridge without cheese. Without lists, we’d all be lost. There’d be no dictionaries, telephone directories, or electoral rolls. There’d … Continue reading The loveliness of lists
Fragments of an ordinary life 