There’s a scene in The Third Man I shall always remember. The cobbles of an empty square in Vienna glint with rain under the uncertain lights of the night. Distantly across the square stands a
Know thy faceKnow thy face
I was not taught how to shave. By the time stubble contacted my very late-developing body, I was in the army, far from parent and close to corporals who would as soon cut your head
LosingLosing
I lost a pencil the other day. It was in my pocket – probably fell out when I grabbed my face mask – a stub you see, one of the many I have lost over
KolbasaKolbasa
It was in the army where Marc Dalby acquired a taste for Russians. The bulbous stubs of a lurid red sausage, deep-fried in oil, had cauterised the taste of the mess food ladled out to
Beginning of a lessonBeginning of a lesson
“Who said that?” Silence in the boys. “I repeat – who said that?” No one’s going to own up; the boys know it; they also know who said it. “Was it you, Wilkinson?” No, it
The Woodholme residentialThe Woodholme residential
The blow to the floorboard above dislodges a cockroach to fall to where it races as my shoe aims to save its life and kick it out the door as the 3 a.m. music takes
Circle in waterCircle in water
in air, happily haphazard, the moth; in water, a narrowing circle to death – the wings lose powder and power. lifting the smudging thing is a small mercy in the pool of the world where
The hair of the fairThe hair of the fair
My lady in wisps has the smallest of lips her body’s a perfection from the nose to the tips My lady in plaits now does her own straps runs wild when she can has no
Speaking as a theistSpeaking as a theist
Ironically, the homeground advantage provided by the world which the atheist claims is the only source of knowledge is his weakness. With the physical universe as the exclusive foundation, he is limited by what he
Speaking as an atheistSpeaking as an atheist
Let’s be honest: atheists have a lot going for them. They have home ground advantage: the world, here and now, and its past, presents itself as the experience of life. Every word spoken, every emotion