Finishing reading the autobiography of John Cowper Powys ...

Yesterday I finished reading the Autobiography - it was just before midnight - I raked the fire - the west wind sang in the chimney - when I went outside, stars were moving across the black freezing sky - 

I started reading the book on a stormy afternoon last November - it was four o'clock - since then, I had read a few pages every day, reading each serpentine sentence at least twice, sometimes three or four times - 

I felt that I had emerged from a richly decorated labyrinth, full of terrible wonders - I was dizzy still with mysteries - 

As I stared at the smouldering apple logs, I imagined the magician, pressing his forehead against an ancient rock - wild eyed spirits coursed through his soul - 

23.45

January 23 2015

The Old School House

East Stoke