Everything
that ice has touched has changed. The long mud puddles in front of the house
are ice bridges over trapped water, the water presses bubbles up, the structure
of the bridge is compromised. There are heel shaped holes where Boy has tested
it earlier, on his way to school. He has prised an ice circle from the top of a
wide bucket, there is a plastic bowl full of ice trapped in the circle of ice,
it’s beautiful and quickly vandalised by the jealous sun. But the sun on the ice in the fields
lights each crystal up, I walk, Dog runs, the ground beneath sparkles like
precious stuff. Over the frosted leaves her paws make a crunch like the sound
of a giant eating a bowl of cereal. I see snow on the moor peaks, the
mysterious towers of granite, and the sky is heart-liftingly clear. Two
aeroplanes draw lines in it. I am not dreaming of faraway places this morning,
I am living in one.
There is weather today, I do note it: take a few moments to reckon the size of a cloud (big) and the frequency of rain (sporadic.) Centre of my interest though is a stack of magazines. Not the fashion kind. This is martial arts research. I'm not even sure what it is I'm looking for, but intuition calls loud. A range of old adverts skew some amusement. Contact pants, for example. Pants are not trousers where I come from. They are underwear. Professional contact pants: improved smirk value. But why would a person be likely to purchase a grappling hook and a lock pick set? For specialists and hobbyists only, the blurb assures. Guidance on the pheromone spray that attracts women against their better judgement? I doubt it works any more proficiently than the mysterious potion that defines your muscles while you sleep. But, then: I wonder is some sprayed on this paper? What was my intuition thinking, making this ghastly shout… Tea break time. There's a lot of words...
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