Rose-Tinted Tears – 21st November 2022

Not understanding consequences
The future impossibly vast
Fire the only guide
With no lesson from the past
Naivety is nature
For kitten and the pup
A world set in wonder
To drink from this cup
Bitter-tasting tears
Wiped from cheeks so red
Whispered-coated rumours
Of words perhaps not said
Blind lead blind in battles
Swords laid to the heart
Voices deepen in anguish
As the youth set to depart
Wisdom-thickened skin
Hardened by the aches
Practised and repeated
Then learned from those mistakes
Where did they go
Those sadder lonely days?
Reminders of a time
Enjoyed in so many ways.


The truth I believe is that silence – like darkness – is a little unnerving but unlike darkness, the apprehension comes not from the fact that it conceals but in that it reveals.

Thomas J Bevan

Today I’m feeling:
Exhausted, a little happy but a little down.
Today I’m grateful for:
Amy being back in the kitchen and cooking up a storm. Before we got home we went shopping and found some vegan pork belly cubes and Amy cooked them and they were delicious.
The best thing about today was:
Chilling at House after a reasonable first-thing morning class. The kids were fairly well-behaved and most got their work done. I got a few things done whilst drinking coffee and enjoyed relaxing.
What book are you reading right now?
Quite a few different ones but the main one is 100 Selected Stories by Anton Chekov. Only just started yesterday but the first two stories were great.

I took this picture because everyone loves a chilled dopey dog. Tokyo can get pretty bitey but I’ve learned to keep her happy and she’s often found like this.

True Loves – 23rd September 2022

Sick and tired of freedom
I want to be a slave
I need to be kept in line
And told how to behave
I’ll gladly give up some rights
Just tell me what to do
I want someone else to think for me
I want it to be you


He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.

Jean-Luc Godard

Today I’m feeling:
Happy
Today I’m grateful for:
All the many choices of different and delicious foods available so close to my home. It’s not often that I can’t decide or find what I want to eat.
The best thing about today was:
Listening to my student Feije singing and playing guitar. It’s great to see one of my students passionate about playing something other than mobile games or TikTok. She ran all the way over to the guitar room to bring one back to the classroom as I let them have free time. I also had fun with Mee, Yok and Kam with a silly fun game they had on their phone and also with another group of girls playing Uno.

I took this picture because Tokyo was in a friendly happy mood today and she’s lovely when she’s like that. She’s very possessive of what she perceives as her things and will quickly and easily bite you if you go near them.

The Week That Was – 23rd December 1979

No Punk Intended – 24th June 2021

Slamming into each other
Having so much fun
It’s a heaving circle pit
Until each song is done
But someone is down
On the slippery floor they slid
Someone should help them up
But no punk in ten did

The skins have come with bats
Meting out some violence
What to do about them?
Just met with silence
The beatings had started
The punks all run and hid
Stand up all together
But no punk in ten did


Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that it is Thursday and I only have two classes today and will finish at 1.30 so will have lots of free time. I plan to draw a picture of Tokyo to give to Gui as a gift.

Poems on this day – 20th May 2021

Grumble and Grunt

I wish I could talk to you more
But I forget the words to say
Beyond inane pleasantry
Engage pleasant insanity

Sometimes forgetting what words are for
We grumble and grunt away
You know me, I know you
At least we both think we do

We tried to share together
Get to the nitty gritty
Broken formal etiquette
Just easier to forget

Now we just discuss the weather
That seems like such a pity
Communicate turn by turn
Connections we must relearn

In Two Minds

I am in control
Of the thoughts
In my black hole
On a roll
Or out of sorts
Searching for my soul

It’s in my mind
Dual thinking
Both are blind
I cannot find
Slowly sinking
A life resigned

Truth

Your truth is sitting on that hill
Mine elsewhere, a bitter pill
But let’s consider, understand
And work together, hand in hand

Tokyo*

I wanted to go to Japan
But in the end I couldn’t go
So I bought a little dog instead
And named that good girl Tokyo

*True story of Gui, the owner of my regular coffee shop House

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to be able to buy and try cheap shoes on Lazada. This morning I received a nice pair which will replace some of my tatty old ones. I still need to find some good inexpensive ones for school though. I don’t wear shoes much here but need good support when I do. I am lucky to be able to try so many different ones.