The fields beyond Broadmayne ...

This morning I drove with Penny and Teresa to Broadmayne - I'd often slowed down in the Peugeot whilst passing The Black Dog - I imagined unshaven rogues reeling out of the pub jakes, their necks encircled with blurred tattoos - 

I parked the wounded red beast in Chalky Road - we climbed tricksy stiles, crossed wide sweeping fields bordered by leafless hedgerows - 

The earth was still frozen - tiny grass shoots caught the pale sunlight - a dog raced over a field, a gleaming jet black shape of joy and speed - 

I forgot all the sad thoughts of recent days which had oppressed me - 

I marvelled at the clouds in the sky, the texture of the earth beneath my feet, the delicate weathervane of a lichened church - 

I heard my blood sing in my veins - I watched rooks waltzing in the air - 

11.30

February 4 2015

Broadmayne